It Started With a Shooting Star
by xxxSilver-Nightlarkxxx
Summary: It started with a shooting star, 3 pscyho girls, a hatred for pennies, a sword-wielding lunatic, Kryptonite, Solstice, and the Doors of Death in the Sea of Monsters? Who has to save them? The answer is a walking crayon, a dead flirt, a Midget Queen, a Nico Taco, and a Superman Killer with help from the Easter Bunny! Camp Half-Blood will never be the same again! Rated T just in case
1. Prologue

All right, let's get to business with a few things…AUTHOR'S NOTE! I'll be doing this at the beginning of each chapter and save you from hearing me rant at the end of the chapters—which happen to be pretty long chapters, mind you. ;) Anyway, before my ADHD makes me switch topics, I do not own PJO. If I did Lazel would be an official couple, there would be more Jasper moments, Reyna would show up more, the ISWASS characters would be in PJO, and Nico di Angelo would be MINE. XD I'd tell you I was kidding but I'm not.

Secondly, this story "It Started With A Shooting Star" is written by two people with special help from my friend who we will be calling Kitty since I won't use her real name here. It's a collab by me, xxxSilver-Nightlarkxxx, you can call me Aris or Eve E, and my friend NovemberRain29 (if you want you can search her since she has her own profile). You can call her Rain. Yup, we go by our ISWASS (it started with a shooting star) character names. I'm Aris. Rain is Rain. Kitty is Kass. I write for Kass, Aris, and later on, I'll be writing as Will Solace. Rain is writing for Rain, Jake, and Nico…yes, di Angelo.

Third, FLAMES WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF BY LEO AND JAKE (OC). Don't like, don't read it. I'm not forcing you to so, hopefully, I won't have to deal with flames. Not being mean, just being blunt.

Fourth, hope you like it. It's set in between The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero so no, Nico is less…um…emo? Depressive? Whatever word you want to use for that, Nico isn't as dark as he was in The Battle of the Labyrinth and in Mark of Athena. I don't really know if he's OOC because Rain's doing a pretty good job of his point of view (that's my opinion). There's a Nico/OC and OC/OC and a future Will/OC pairing.

Lastly, we've gotten really far into the story but I've only started posting it now so don't worry. You won't have to wait too long for updates. WARNING: This story is rated T because of mild cursing (mostly in Latin but to be safe…), talks about things like bras on flagpoles, and other very strange crap…so parental supervision is not advised (because we might be shipped to the asylum if anyone else found out about this). We're really like this on school and stuff so you can't really judge. XD

Point is, read on and enjoy! Reviews are really welcome! I'd love to hear from you!

-Eve E/Aris

XXX

Prologue

-Aris-

It wasn't supposed to come _true_. In fact, it wasn't supposed to even be _real_. It started with a shooting star on a cold, December night. It had started with _us_, three ordinary—well as ordinary as we can get—girls watching movies and throwing popcorn and pillows at each other, enjoying the Sunday before Monday morning could come and ruin our fun. It was just the same old tradition on another boring Sunday. Nothing was supposed to be _different_. Nothing was even out of the ordinary until it flew across the night sky and like normal people would've done, we _wished._

It started like this. "KASSIO CORALOV, YOU ARE SO DEAD!" I screamed, throwing a pillow at my childhood best friend and the girl who we had taken in when she was little. The blonde, rainbow-eyed girl ducked just as the pillow flew at her and missed her by just a hair. Kassio—or who had always been called Kass or Kassie Cat when we were teasing her—let out a loud whine. "RAIN, HELP ME! Aris is being mean to me!" Kass called, diving behind my sister who looked at me with raised eyebrows. "She dumped the half of her chips on my head!" I snapped, glaring at the rainbow-highlighted blonde behind her. "Because you dumped my popcorn down my shirt," Kass protested, "and now it's in my bra!"

Rain laughed and tucked her black hair behind her ear as she regarded me with wicked eyes. "Don't pick on Kass without me!" She said before diving at me, holding a bag of peanuts in her other hand. I screamed and pulled myself up on my bunk bed. Rain turned and laughed when she saw me. "Coward of a Nightlark," She called and I proceeded to climb up the ladder leading to Kassio's bunk bed over mine. "HELP ME!" I screamed to no one in particular. "I'M ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS!" But to be honest, everyone in our room knew that was a lie. I lived for peanut butter. Rain climbed up the ladder after me and I huddled at the far corner of Kass's bed. She made it to the top before I came to my senses and threw a pillow at her face. She growled and I jumped off the side of the bunk bed before she could catch me.

Kass froze—her rainbow-highlights standing out on the right side of her hair like a red flag—when she saw me and I pulled her in an arm lock. "HUMAN SHIELD," I announced as Rain turned around to look at me. Her black hair was in disarray and the red tips at the bottom shone like fire. Her eyes were full of mischief but even so, I didn't flinch under her gaze. She wasn't much stronger than me and I was much quicker than her. She charged at me and I shove Kass into her. They landed on the floor with a loud thump and if our mother was here, I knew she would've come in and looked at me instantly. Of course, most of the mischief was done by me but did everyone feel the need to rub that in? I mean, I wasn't _always_ the reason for every prank or injury in this house!

Rain and Kass struggled to get up but I ran over and sat on them, getting a loud groan from Rain and more struggling from Kass. I flicked her on the forehead. "Now, now, now, be a good little Kassie Cat and stay still." I chided. "Besides, I'm only 87 pounds! Rain is the fat one!" Rain pushed me off her—glaring at me probably—"I'm not even 100 pounds, you midget!" She shouted. "I'm _not_ a midget! I'm 5'1 and I'm so sorry I'm not as tall as you and Kass!" I snapped. Then she grabbed the peanuts. I started to scream and she grabbed a hold of me and shoved half of the case of peanuts down my shirt but instead of freaking out, I began to laugh. "I don't care!" I sang and Rain and Kass looked at me like I had grown another head. "What?" Kass exclaimed. "I don't wear a bra when I go to sleep, idiot! It's not uncomfortable." I giggled as I shook out my shirt and all the peanuts fell out of it.

"You get breast cancer from sleeping with a bra on, you know." I told them matter-of-factly and I saw Rain roll her eyes. "You say that all the time. I think I would remember that." She said, looking exasperated. Kass, on the other hand, sighed. "Can we not talk about this?!" Kass pleaded. "Yeah, we can talk about how we need to go to sleep." Rain replied. Kass began to whine and I groaned. "BUT I DON'T WANT TO!" Kass and I shouted in unison. Rain's smile darkened and she smirked as she dragged both of us by the collar and over to the mess on the floor. "Then you can clean up." She said, looking evilly at us. "NO!" We screamed in unison and she laughed. "Go to sleep and I'll go get the broom." She said and her tone was final. "Fine, Rainy," I replied and when she left, Kitty and I ran to the balcony and stepped out.

We looked up at the sky and I smiled to myself. "There aren't a lot of stars in Manhattan, huh, Kassie Cat?" I remark. "I know and it's sad. Stars are really pretty." She answers. "Always the simple-minded, aren't you?" I comment and Kass laughs. "I'm Kassio. It's in my blood or whatever." She replies and I laugh. Suddenly, Kass grabs my arm and points at the sky. Her eyes light up in excitement. "It's a shooting star! Quick, make a wish, Aris!" She exclaims and I look up to see a star fly across the sky. "I wish…there were such things as magic and if there already is magic, I'd be a part of it." I wished out-loud. "I wish…that dream I had last night had been real." Kass wished and I turned to her. "What dream?" I asked. "I'll tell you tomorrow. Rain will freak if she finds out we're not in bed." She promises and I nod.

When we climb into our beds—my bunk bed under Kass's and Rain's twin-sized bed next to ours—I can't help but pray that my wish would come true because all my life, weird things had always happened. There was that time in kindergarten when I made a toy levitate and fly towards me and Mom had taken me out of that school when she had found out. Rain had an incident during our uncle's wake—when I was only a year old—where she had started crying and the gravestones started vibrating and Mom had to take Rain—who was a three that time—out of the graveyard before she started anymore trouble. When Kassio's father had went missing—her mother was already dead—we took her in and she had this weird aura around her that looked like a rainbow.

There were other times that strange things had happened as well. In third grade, Kass and I had been in the same class and she was dancing around on the playground. A huge rainbow had appeared above her all of a sudden even if it hadn't rained. When Rain was in second grade, she was on a field trip to a war museum and she made all those weird skeletons move. In fourth grade, I got really mad at my classmate and I had said something like, _'Temerarius'_ and she suddenly got rashes and had to be sent home.

Another time, during fifth grade, Kass and I had gone on a field trip to a museum full of Greek and Roman artifacts. Kass had translated a bunch of inscriptions on the pottery and weapons. When we were walking around the Roman wing, Kass had sworn that I had spoken fluent Latin while passing the displays and the caretaker—who happened to speak Latin—had conversed with me. She told me that we had talked for over five minutes and she swore she wasn't kidding but I don't speak Latin and Kass doesn't speak or understand Greek.

Rain had an incident in sixth grade when she had sworn that her Science teacher had fangs, talons, and leathery wings. Mom had moved her to another school in seventh grade when she heard. When Kass and I were in sixth grade—she had been eleven and I was turning twelve—we were followed around campus by a guy with hooves and goat horns who ate tin cans for lunch. Mom had played it cool when we told her but I could tell she was anxious and torn between taking us out and letting us stay. Rain had talked to her but Kass and I hadn't been able to hear a single thing they had said so, we had begun to suspect. But we had stayed in the same school. But so far, this seventh grade, nothing out of the norms had happened.

I wondered if we were all different and that we weren't just normal first year high school and seventh grade girls. Rain was the one who seemed to know what Mom did and maybe that was because she was fourteen and Mom must've trusted her with information she never told either of us but I was dying to know because honestly, I knew we didn't belong here in a place full of mundane people. There was others like us and I swore it was true but if I asked Rain, she'd never tell me even if she knew and even I wouldn't be able to tell much besides whether she was lying to me or not. I couldn't ask Mom because when I did, she hadn't even said a thing to me until the next day. But I swore on everything I believed in, something was going on and if that shooting star worked, I was going to find out.

XXX

AN: I've uploaded this at the same time as the other chapters so read on…! (Unless you don't like it then never mind that)


	2. Chapter One

Yay! Time for another rant! Kidding, kidding!

I do not own PJO…because if I did it would be as crazy as this fanfic.

Flames will be taken care of by Leo and Jake (who is yet to be revealed)

Reviews are very welcome and I'd love to hear from you all!

Hope you liked the previous chapter and I hope you like this one! XD Enjoy, my fellow demigods! ;)

-Eve E/Aris

XXX

Utter Clumsiness, a Sword-Wielding New Student, and Evil Cheerleaders

-Aris-

A few days had passed since we had made that wish and nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary so when Wednesday came around, I didn't expect anything to happen but…that morning I woke up with something sharp and metallic underneath my head. I jerked upright and looked at my pillow like it had grown spikes but instead, it was a silver, chain bracelet with two charms on either side of it. One charm was a pair of crossed swords and the other was a heart with an arrow through it. It must've been a present from either Kass or Rain. So, I didn't give it another thought because it was a quarter to seven and we had to get ready or we were going to be late.

I jumped out of bed, hurriedly putting on the bracelet, and got changed in under five minutes. When I got to the kitchen, Rain was sitting there and eating pancakes like she had all the time in the world. I sat down across her and she lifted an eyebrow. "Have you looked in the mirror recently, little sis?" She asked and I didn't bother to answer because in my hurry, I hadn't even glimpsed at my reflection. I looked down at my clothes and realized that my jeans were inside-out, my white shirt was backwards, and the vest I had pulled over it was four sizes too big for me. Not only that but my socks were mismatched—one was striped and knee-length while the other was white and just up to my ankles—and my shoes consisted of one black boot and one Converse sneaker. "What the hell? I swear, I couldn't have messed up putting on my clothes like this!" I exclaimed.

"You're also up early." Rain commented. "No, I'm not! I woke up and it was 6:45 and you know we have to leave at 7:00 or we'll be stuck in traffic!" I exclaimed, my tone frantic. "No, it's not. Its 6:30 now and you've been up since 6:00 in the morning scrambling around like a madwoman." Rain replied, looking aggravated. "But the clock in our room said…" I protested, letting my sentence drift off. "That's because the batteries have been dead since yesterday afternoon and no one wanted to replace them. Now, hurry up and change, Aris. This time, look in the mirror and pay attention to what you're putting on, will you? And fix your hair while you're at it. You do realize that one side is in a pigtail and the other side is still down. Honestly, you should be able to dress yourself properly by now." She drawled and I sent her a glare before going back into the room to change.

When I came out ten minutes later, my plain white shirt was facing correctly, my dark wash jeans weren't inside-out, my socks matched, my black flat-sole boots were on, the black vest I was wearing was mine instead of Rain's, and my dark brown tresses were pulled back into a sloppy ponytail instead of looking like a rat's nest. Kass came out a minute after I did, dressed in a shirt with a Snuffalupagus on it with the logo, 'Everyday I'm snuffling' on it, leggings with rainbow stripes on it, and mismatched Converse. She had a Nyan Cat beret on her head and she had combed her blonde hair this time.

"You look like you were hit by a color bomb and dressed by a four-year-old." I remarked as I dug into my pancakes. "I beg to differ. We have a cousin, she's four, and she still dresses better than you do." Rain commented as she stood up to put her empty plate in the sink. "At least, change either the shirt or the leggings to something that actually matches, will you? I mean, keep the mismatched Converse since I know you always wear them but change!" I snapped. Kass sighed and went back into the room with jeans instead of rainbow leggings, whining about me sounding like my mom. "God forbid I end up being your mom or you'll have hell to deal with." I say as she quiets down and eats her waffles.

xxx

Five minutes later, we leave home and take the subway. We take the stop closest to our school, Dunston High, and the subway exit is just a block from it so we walk the rest of the way. Kass is constantly tripping and almost dropping her book bag—the klutz—and I don't bother to tease her because I'm glad she hasn't gotten hurt yet. Rain, on the other hand, is scowling and it barely makes her look any less beautiful than she is but I don't say anything about that either because I can tell the snow from yesterday is threatening to make her slip and she hates that. But I have to agree, I really didn't like the snow too much because I hate the cold and I swear I should've brought myself a jacket but I had told myself before I left that our classrooms weren't cold anyway and there was no point in bringing one.

When we finally got to the steps leading to the main building, I was glad for the warmth coming from the open door. I hurried up the steps and we split up. Rain went to the high school building—considering she was in first year—and Kass and I went to homeroom. Miss Garcia had spared us of homework from her subject and nothing was different until a new student came in and Miss Garcia's facial expression changed from her usually cheerful smile to a nervous look. The guy who came in was skinny, pale, and had hair that looked like he had just rolled out of bed that morning and came right over. He had a black shirt, dark jeans with a chain on it, beat-up sneakers, an aviator's jacket, a skull ring, and a black backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Oh, and we have a new student. He transferred from his old school in Chicago. His name is Nico di Angelo and I hope you'll help him out to adjust here." Miss Garcia said, regaining her usual composure but I could tell he still made her nervous. Nico walked over to the empty seat behind me and I swore, when he passed, I saw the hilt of a sword protruding from a sheath attached to his belt but when I took a closer look, there was nothing. Miss Garcia easily picked up from where she had stopped in her lecture and I began to write quickly on a piece of paper torn out from my notebook. _'Kassie Cat, did you see that?! He had a freaking sword! I swear! I saw it! We'd better watch out. He's strange, Kass. Even Miss Garcia is scared of him.'_ I scribbled down and then I flicked it over to Kass's desk, on the left of mine.

It hit her straight on the cheek before landing on the desk and she pretended to ignore it and listen to Miss Garcia for a few seconds before casually picking it up and unfolding it. She didn't look at me but she knew it had to be me. We had passed notes before, more than enough times that she was able to recognize my handwriting and I could recognize hers. When she had finished reading, she torn a paper from her notebook and began quickly writing. She tossed it to me and it landed in the middle of my desk in a perfect diamond-shaped fold. I opened it hastily and began to read: _'You're probably imagining things again! I didn't see anything and I'd notice if something's wrong! You're paranoid just because of that shooting star wish you made!'_ She had written.

I tore a page and replied, writing furiously on the paper. Miss Garcia had chosen now to notice us because I heard her ask, "Aris, would you like to share what you're doing while I've been discussing?" I held back the mischievous smile that dared to surface and touched the paper I had been writing on, whispering something I couldn't understand but I knew it was the right incantation. I held up my paper to her as she came to a stop at my desk and I plastered a completely convincing innocent, confused look on my face. "Taking down notes?" I replied and my tone was questioning like I didn't understand what she was asking. Miss Garcia took the paper from me and read it over but I was confident that she wouldn't see anything but a perfect diagram of the important details about the topic she had been discussing. She gave me a smile as she handed it back to me. "Yes, I'm sorry. I thought you might've been exchanging notes but it seems that I was mistaken. Go ahead and continue, Aris." She said as she walked back to the board to continue her lesson and that's when I allowed myself to smirk because she really didn't know how right she was.

I made sure not to meet the surprised, questioning look that Kass was giving me and I continued to write but this time, it wasn't a set of fake notes. _'Don't be stupid! Of course, I'm being paranoid and you're a purple alien from the planet Jupiter who was abducted by spacemen from Earth who took you to this planet to herd cows! I'm not imagining it! I'm going to prove it to you and I'm also telling Rain at lunch! She'll believe me, which was something you used to do! When have I ever been wrong about stuff like this! Open your eyes, Kass. I'm not joking. I saw a sword and you should believe me!'_ I wrote and this time, I didn't care if Miss Garcia caught me. I threw the piece of paper at Kass's face and sent her a glare. She had believed me before and I never doubted her when she claimed to have seen a bunch of weird stuff.

Her response didn't come until five minutes before the class was supposed to end and she had only written four short sentences. _'We both know I'm not an alien from Jupiter who was brought here by spacemen to herd cows! They brought me here to herd ducks, you idiot! And fine, fine, I believe but I still don't think Nico's a bad person. I'm going to keep my eyes out but honestly, the only thing I can see is that he's obviously trouble and when the rest of the girls in our batch see him, it's going to cause a lot of gossip.'_ I didn't reply anymore because I was glad she believed me and honestly, I had nothing else to say.

xxx

The day went on without any fault and I didn't get a glimpse of Nico or his sword much. Lunch came around and Kass and I had run all the way to the high school cafeteria to tell Rain. She was talking to one of her friends when Kass dragged her away. I followed them shortly after a quick, "Sorry, Kayla, we really need to talk to Rain right now! It's an emergency!" We dragged Rain away to an empty classroom and she faced us as soon as I shut the door.

"What happened this time?" She asked and I couldn't tell if her tone was aggravated or plain annoyed. "We have a sword-wielding new student in our batch! His name is—" I exclaimed before Kass could but Rain cut me off halfway. "Let me guess, his name is Nico di Angelo?" She asked and I could tell there was a hint of recognition in her eyes besides her look of boredom. "You know him, don't you?" Kass clarified and I was just as surprised as Rain when she said that because Kass wasn't exactly perceptive. "No, but I've been hearing a lot about him. Apparently even the girls in my batch think he's hot." Rain answered, shrugging indifferently but I could tell she was lying. She knew him much better than she was letting on and it wasn't just recently. She had known him even before he came here but I let her think I had bought it when I nodded.

"Oh, well, I don't know about that but he's pretty attractive…" I commented, shrugging as well. Kass—being Kass—backed out as soon as she had heard the word hot so if she suspected that Rain was lying, she didn't let on. "Well, I doubt he owns a sword. I mean, the guy moved from Chicago from a normal school, lived a normal life, and has no records what-so-ever that were interesting besides the fact that he had been kicked out from his previous school. He's pretty much a 'bad boy' type of guy but he's pretty clean and honestly, do you expect some random kid to have a sword. I think the metal detectors at the door would've spotted it if he had one. You probably are seeing things or it could've been a trick of the light or something. Maybe you didn't get enough sleep…" Rain said, listing down options so realistic and possible that Kass had agreed. "See, I did tell you it was nothing!" She put in and I knew it was hopeless. Rain was lying and Kass had bought it. I shrugged, finally, "Maybe." But I didn't really think so because I knew what I saw and Rain could deny it all she wanted but I was going to prove it and I could do it without Kass's help.

xxx

Rain

When those two had left, I went back to the cafeteria with thousands of thoughts bouncing around my head. Did Aris really believe what I had told her? She wasn't stupid and sometimes she could lie so good I thought it was the truth. She was perceptive but just how perceptive. Had Nico seen me? Would he act like he didn't know me or would he confront me? What was he doing here in the first place? Was it time to bring Kass and Aris to Camp Half-Blood? Were there monsters on the way to find us now that our scent had become stronger? There were four demigods in one school. Nico was the son of Hades. I was the daughter of the Big Three too. Then, Aris and Kass were with us. We'd put them in danger. Should we run or should we wait? Aris was already beginning to suspect and that put us in even more danger if she found out who she was. Would Kass buy Aris's story? Would that put Kass in danger too?

But, I couldn't think and I didn't know even half of the answers to my own questions. Surely, I had lied good enough for even Aris to buy it. She did seem unsure but convinced that maybe I was right. But she was Aris and she was going to be my biggest problem. I might not be able to keep her in the dark much longer and if she did find out, we'd be put in even bigger trouble than what we could handle. Besides, I had to protect her. I had the power to protect her. I was the daughter of Hades. I was powerful enough to be able to keep them both safe but if Aris found out what she was, her scent would be stronger. She was my sister and that meant she too was the daughter of Hades. Three Big Three children didn't seem like a good idea. So, I did the only thing I could do. I prayed, 'Father, please, I'm begging you. Protect Aris and Kass. I can sense that they're life is still very long. Please, Father, don't let them die. Don't cut their lifelines short. Let them stay with us, please. I beg of you, Father. Nico and I can get ourselves through this, I know we can. Just protect them. That's all I ask.'

xxx

-Aris-

I don't know what I looked like the rest of the day, but even Kass wouldn't get too close to me. If I looked like I could kill, blame my good-for-nothing, lying-piece-of-filth sister Rain Nightlark. I thought I was keeping my anger to myself, really. I mean, I usually didn't get angry anymore besides the quick bursts of rage that lasted about a minute when my patience runs out or my fury got the better of me but my anger usually passed quickly and it took quite long to get me pissed again. But I was seriously ready to throw a temper tantrum like a five-year-old and that was probably why even my teachers didn't call my name during class or my classmates didn't bother me no matter how important whatever they had to say was. I was ready to snap at the first thing that said a word to me and if it was my _dear sweet_ sister, the better.

And I felt even worse, because I was seriously starting to doubt myself. Maybe, I was going crazy. Maybe, I was paranoid. I probably was hoping that my wish would come true. But every time I thought of my little magic spell during Miss Garcia's class, I was confident that it was true. How do you explain how my letter to Kass became a perfect manuscript of what Miss Garcia had been lecturing about when I hadn't even paid the littlest attention to her class? You can't explain it, can you?! See, I was perfectly _sane_. I wasn't seeing things! (Of course, naturally, sane people don't do magic or see swords or levitate toys when you're only in kindergarten.) So, the rest of the day, I kept a perfectly evil grin on my face because when I saw Rain again, I'd have to erase it and act like I believed her stupid stories.

I was probably too caught up in my giddy, _'I'm totally sane'_ thoughts to notice where I was going during free period because if I had been paying more attention, I probably wouldn't have walked straight into the sword-wielding, black-haired, _'I-moved-from-Chicago'_ Nico di Angelo. But, I wasn't paying attention because I did walk right into him and I can tell you one thing. It's not very fun walking into people. In fact, if you're me, you'll probably end up falling over and dropping all your stuff. But you're not me, so no worries there!

I faced Nico di Angelo, who was on the ground across from me. I dragged myself upright and pulled my book bag back onto my shoulder. He—on the other hand—was picking up his backpack and a book written in what looked like Greek. I snatched it up and looked at the cover. If Kass had been right about me speaking Latin, she was wrong about me understanding Greek because I could barely make out the words. But when my eyes had adjusted, I was looking at English instead of Greek. "Hmm…Guide to the Underworld and How to Raise the Dead 101," I read aloud. "Interesting, you wouldn't have a book about war in Latin, would you? I don't really know too much Greek. It hurts the eyes, you see." I comment as I hand the book to him. He seems both frantic to hide the book and shocked that I hadn't said anything about him reading Greek books. He stood up and I followed in suit.

"Umm…" He started but I cut him off. "Also, you wouldn't by any chance have another sword besides the one in the sheath attached to your belt, would you? If I run into some really mean-looking monsters who want to eat out my intestines and gut me like a fish with deadly weapons, I could really use one of them." I add, sarcastically and he backs away like he wants to run. "What—how—you can see through the Mist?" He asks and I smile coldly. "I don't know what you're talking about." I reply, enjoying toying around with him. "What are you?" Nico says and this time, his hand goes to his sword. I begin to laugh. "Not too smart, are you?" I remark and his hand goes slack on the sword. Instead, he steps towards me and snaps his fingers. "You don't see the sword. You didn't see the Greek book I was holding. Nothing is out of the ordinary." He says like he's trying to put me in a trance. I grab his wrist and use my other hand to snap my fingers in front of his face. _"You are an idiot."_ I say, my voice turning low and hypnotic. He wriggles his wrist out of my grasp and glares at me. "Stop it," He says and I giggle. "If you say so, di Angelo," I call as I turn around and walk away. Maybe everyone is right, I should learn to keep my mouth shut. But I'm also right when I say that being quiet isn't fun.

xxx

Last classes of the day are a relief, especially today. Kass looks at me like my face became like Medusa and I had changed into Hades' boxer shorts. When I look at her, I pretend what I see is her with a cat head and a pair of dancing penguin underwear and that pink bra with pink stars that I had kept buried under a pile of normal-looking underwear. Nico's been looking at me like he expects me to turn into a demon or something and I resist the urge to snap my fingers at him again and yell, "ABRACADABRA!" I'd love to see his reaction but I've screwed up enough already and I don't need to make it worse. I can also feel the glares of a bunch of Nico di Angelo fan girls and it's the hardest to ignore because if they only knew why he was staring at me, they'd probably think I was insane and I didn't need anyone else to think of that. I was seriously itching to yell something weird at Kass, do a magical spell to turn Nico into a hedgehog, and explain to the fan girls what had happened and maybe if I wasn't so ADHD, I wouldn't have felt so hyper right now.

Instead, I summoned some handcuffs and handcuffed myself to the desk during the rest of the class but it made it worse because I couldn't move my hands and I practically shaking from all the bottled-up energy. Kass, who was sitting directly next to me, kept kicking me under the table when I got too hyper but I was seriously starting to think that she was becoming a bit of a hypocrite. It wasn't like she wasn't ADHD. In fact, she was worse than I was and at least I didn't have dyslexia like she has. Rain was probably the only one who didn't have ADHD but she was dyslexic and god that must suck. As soon as we were dismissed, my handcuffs fell off and I picked up my bag before running out of the door. "FREE AT LAST!" I sang and Kass sighed. We walked off to find Rain and somehow, after five minutes of going in circles, I knew we were lost.

"Kassie Cat, we're lost." I finally commented and Kass groaned. "How can we get lost in the high school building? We've been around this place thousands of times!" She exclaimed. "I don't know!" I retorted. "But I do…" Someone said from behind us and I turned to see a blonde-haired girl in a cheerleader outfit. "So do I…" Someone else said and I whipped around to look at the North corridor. Another cheerleader but with black-hair blocked us. Two more cheerleaders appeared from our left and right side and we were trapped. I cursed in Latin. _"Stultus cacas, futou,"_ I groaned as I turned to look at the first cheerleader. I was screwed.

xxx

RAIN

I walk out of class with a pounding head. I could not read a single word that teacher made us read! All those words mixing together and forming words that were uncomprehendable. I walk around the school to go to the usual area where Aris and Kass are.

On my way there I see Nico, lounging on his locker and listening to music, oblivious to the stares other girls are giving him. I walk over and sit next to him. He looks up, sees me, and smiles. Of course, other girls gave me death glares and me being me, I did what I could. I gave them the finger. He raised an eyebrow, unsurprised, seeing as we are the children of Hades. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "Protecting you," He answers simply and I gave him a questioning look. "From what?" I ask. "The better question might be from who, actually." He answers. I was getting quite pissed with these simple answers.

"Stop being such an annoying idiot and start giving me answers, will you?" I ask, my tone seeming a bit more annoyed than I wanted to let on. Then, the weirdest things happen, I hear, "What in the world do you demonic two-faced witches want with us?!" and a piercing scream which could only mean one thing, Aris and Kass are in big trouble.

Nico and I give each other one look before we start off running to where we hear the noises. I pull out my knives and he draws his sword. When we get there we see two empousae fighting Aris and Kass. Well technically it was Aris trying to hit the empousae with a broom and blocking them with the cover of a trashcan and Kass hiding behind her. Aris says something weird in Latin and when she pushes the trashcan cover at the empousae, they fly back. "Stand back!" Nico shouts. Aris looks at him then looks at Kass, "I told you he had a sword!" She screams. "Aris, not right now. Get Kass and stay behind us." I say, on any day she might've disobeyed, but my tone at that moment probably sounded serious. She grabbed Kass and they stood behind Nico and me. I could hear her muttering something that I could tell was, 'I feel useless.'

Nico went up to one empousae and with one swipe, he beheads her. I see the other one and I throw the knives, one in the middle of her head, the other right in her chest. She falls down and I hear Kass talk, "What. The. Heck. Just. Happened." She says. "No time. Get up and let's go." I say. They follow behind us and we see the other students giving us weird looks, I wonder what the Mist made us look like.

One little girl walks up to us and asks what happened and what people were talking about. "Nothing happened." I say, but she doesn't seem to believe me. "Something happened! I swear to God something did!" She exclaims. "Nothing happened, girl. Now get out of our way." Nico says. "No! I am not leaving until you tell me what happened!" She exclaims. What in the world is with these bratty little girls nowadays?

"Listen here you little annoying brat, just go away and leave us alone!" Aris says, exasperated by the little girl who won't move. "No!" She says and sticks her tongue out. That does it. Aris glares and steps forward, about to go all bonkers on her, but Kass stops her. "Look little girl, nothing really happened. We don't know what all the people are talking about so please stop asking us?" Kass says, when she says it though, she says it with a bright smile and the weird thing is, the little girl believes her and walks away. Nico and I share a look, Aris with the Latin and Kass with the talking, something is off about it.

We walk to the back door and with one stomp of the foot; a carriage from the underworld comes out of the floor. Nico opens the door and with the wickedest smile he can give, "Come in, ladies." He says. Aris looks like she wants to say something sarcastic but she looks at me and sighs. Kass give him a scared look but goes in. We all enter and when the door closes I let out a sigh. Wow.

"So….who are you guys?" Nico asks. "Nico, this is my sister Aris Nightlark and my childhood friend Kassio Coralov. Guys, Nico di Angelo." I say. "WHAT! Are you telling me, that's also my sis—" I elbow him in the stomach before he can say "sister". They don't know yet. "Please, di Angelo, we're in the same homeroom class. What did you get? Short term memory loss? Or are you pretentious enough not to care about a single student in this godforsaken school?! And you, Rain, you told me that YOU DIDN'T KNOW HIM!" Aris snaps and I give her a look but she doesn't shut up because that small moment of obedience is over. "Besides, whatever you're hiding, I'm going to find out even if neither of you are going to tell me." She adds and her voice is filled with poison. Aris turns to me. "Thanks for telling me everything, _darling older sister_." Aris hisses and she turns away, not looking at me but I don't reply because honestly, I know she isn't completely mad at me.

Kass starts ruffling her hair and the rainbow stripes. Nico gives it a weird look. "What in the world fell on your hair?" He asks. "Got a problem with the hair?" Kass asks with her eyebrows raised. "It's very…colorful….and disgusting." He says. Aris begins to giggle but she doesn't say a word. Kass—looking mighty offended—does what she was taught to do when a boy was mean to her…kicks him in the balls. "Woohoo! Go Kassie Cat!" exclaims Aris, cheering and laughing like the insane girl she was. Uh-oh. This was going to be a long ride to Camp Half-Blood.

XXX

AN: A LONG journey indeed. I can assure you that any normal car ride for even just one of us (Kitty or me) never turns out NORMAL. Same for Kass and Aris…! Anyway…review please! As I've said, this story is actually almost done but I'm slowly just posting the chapters now so there really anything I'm changing in the further chapters but if you have advice, I guess I can follow it in the last few chapters and in the sequel.


	3. Chapter Two

This is probably one of the longest chapters in ISWASS so far (and we've already written at least eight chapters last I remember). Luckily, it's pretty understandable why this is so long. There are multiple character POVs in this one (from Rain to Aris then to Kass and then to Rain again...then back to Aris) so bear with it. XD It'll get a bit confusing and drama shall ensue. You'll also get a taste of action in this too. There are fight scenes. ;) Oh and if you squint, you'll see some couple scenes. I do not own PJO. Flames will be taken care of by Leo and Jake (who appears in this chapter much to Aris and my distaste). Read, Review, Enjoy! Thanks!

-Eve E/Aris

XXX

Of Blood-Thirsty Monsters, Bad Luck, and Asy—Camp

Rain

After multiple pit stops at different gas stations, we finally arrived near Camp Half-Blood. "Alright, this is as close as we can get to the camp." Nice said. I shook Aris and Kass awake, the two had fallen asleep on each other. "We're here." I say. "Where exactly is here?" asks Kass. "Long Island," I reply. We all step out and the horse and carriage just disappears with the wind. We walk up the hill, Nico leading, the two girls next to each other behind him, and me at the far back. Both Nico and I are carefully watching the surroundings, anxious. There were absolutely no monsters the whole way. It was strange.

I hear Nico mutter something under his breath, sounded like a certain curse word that rhymes with _"hit". _When we reach the top of the hill, I realize what he's been cursing about…the monsters waiting for us at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. Kass gasps and for the first time, Aris is quite silent, probably still a little sleepy. I pull out my butterfly knife, a gift from my father, Hades. It's made of Stygian Iron. It's gunmetal silver with black studs. Nico rolls up his sleeves, preparing to fight. "Somebody should call Jake." I say. "You're probably right…" says Nico. I turn to Aris and hand her one of my throwing knives. "Only use it if absolutely necessary, alright?" I say. "Of course, only if absolutely necessary," She says with a wicked smile and sparking eyes. What have I done? Too late now… "How many are there?" I ask Nico. "Exactly 5 Scythian Dracaenae, 5 Hellhounds, and a Cyclopes," He answers. Kassie Cat runs up the hill to go and call the campers. I take a deep breath and hope to the gods that they'll help us right now.

xxx

-Aris-

There are thousands of different meanings to absolutely necessary. But mine was probably not Rain's. I sheathed her throwing knife into my belt loop and joined them at the front of the group of monsters. I wasn't going to be outdone or left out. So, I fingered my charm bracelet, praying for luck. Suddenly, I gasped as two twin swords made of black iron appeared in my hands after touching the crossed swords charm. I grinned. I guessed absolutely necessary wasn't now.

One of the big, black dogs—a Hellhound, if my Greek mythology knowledge was right—looked at me and like the idiot I was, I waved. "Hi, doggie! Come! Yes, who's an evil, man-eating Hellhound?" I cooed and the Hellhound charged at me. It seemed that even dogs nowadays wanted me dead. I mean, the whole 'demonic, blonde, two-faced witches' called empousae incident seemed understandable. I understood if a bunch of cheerleaders from Hell cheering squad wanted to kill me. If I were a cheerleader from Hell, I'd want to kill any mortal I saw. Being stuck with cheering for demons and the dead could make anyone quite blood-thirsty. But honestly, dogs used to like me! In fact, I had owned one before. Apparently, anything from the Underworld—even cute black dogs—wanted to eat me. _'Congratulations, Aris Nightlark! You've gotten the award for most-wanted-dead-by-any-monsters!'_

The Hellhound growled as it came at me with sharp incisors. I really didn't want to kill a dog, even if it wanted to tear me to shreds and used my bones for play toys but the Hellhound wasn't giving me much of a chance. _"Deos de meas braccas allex vescimini,"_ I screamed (The god of my pants eats pickle) and just as the Hellhound leaped to tear my face with its claws, I ducked. Rolling underneath it, I stabbed its underside with one of my swords and it exploded into yellow vapor. I spat the vile-tasting dust from my mouth and out of god-knows-where, a spear flew passed me and almost nicked my arm. I turned to the offending monster, a woman with scaly skin, yellow eyes, tails of snakes for legs, and wearing gladiator armor.

"_Canis,"_ I yelled at it and giving her the finger. _"Quam me dicere ausim canis,"_ The snake-woman hissed at me. I could easily understand her: How dare you call me a dog! _"Quomodo audeatis vos subvertat hastam in me,"_ I replied. (How dare you throw a spear at me?) Another snake-woman threw her spear at me. _"Hey, stultus! Mauris quis loqui non vides?"_ I yell at her. (Hey, stupid! Don't you see that I'm talking to someone?) The snake-woman that I was yelling at looked like she wanted to roll her eyes. _"Silentium, infernalis semideus!"_ The first snake-woman snapped. (Silence, infernal demigod) _"Non indicas ad silentium,"_ I shouted, frustrated. (Don't tell me to silence)

Someone appeared behind me and I turned to see a black-haired, dark sapphire-eyed guy probably around Rain's age. He was tall, lean, and he had a revolver in his hand. "I see that someone is too busy having a yelling match with a bunch of the snake women to actually kill them." He remarked. _"Silentium, quisquis es,"_ I retorted, forgetting to switch back to English. "Pardon me?" He says, raising an eyebrow sarcastically. "I said, _Silence, whoever you are_." I answer. "Well, Whoever-You-Are actually has a name." He commented. I put a surprised expression on my face. "Really?" I ask, "I didn't know." He chuckles. "Yeah and his name is Jake, Jake Krypton." He replies. "Rain mentioned your name." I commented. "Let me guess. Rain's your sister." Jake clarified. I nodded. "Yup, I'm Aris Nightlark. Pleasure to meet you," I say and we go back to back. "On my count, Aris," Jake told me, "One!" I touched the other charm, a heart with an arrow through it. "Two," Jake said. A bow and quiver appeared behind me and I readied the bow. I notched an arrow and Jake yelled, "THREE!"

I released the arrow and it flew in a graceful arc, finding a kink in the snake woman's armor. It screeched and exploded into yellow vapor. Jake had shot his and we turned to each other and shared wicked smiles. "Rain told me a lot about, Aris. She didn't tell me that you used a bow and arrow." Jake remarked. "She didn't know and neither did I. In fact, I never knew I had weapons until I touched this bracelet. The charms turned into weapons." I replied. Jake nodded. "Is that so?" He asked but it wasn't really a question. There was a loud bellow and I looked up to see a Cyclops. "Futuo," I cursed and Jake laughed. "Another thing she didn't tell me was that you can speak and curse in Latin. I don't need to know Latin to be able to guess what that means." He remarked with a wink.

I could see Rain—riding a pure black Pegasus with white eyes and hooves and a red saddle…I swore it was dead when I saw the stitches and the blood seeping out of its skin—and it looked like she needed some help. I looked at Jake. "Is there any way I could get something to ride on? I'm going to help Rain." I ask and Jake nods. "Yeah, you can…but the Pegasus Stables are too far away." He replies. I grab his wrist. "No, they aren't." I counter and he looks at me like I've turned into Hades from the cartoon movie version of Hercules. _"Onerariam: Pegasus Stable!"_ I exclaimed (Teleport: Pegasus Stables) and somehow, I knew it was the right incantation because a portal appeared at our feet and we dropped into it.

xxx

We were spat out in the Pegasus Stables inside the camp. Jake looks at me and I ignore it because I was seriously sick of everyone giving me weird looks. I had seen evil cheerleaders, dogs from the Underworld, a sword-wielding new student, my sister turn into a crazy knife-thrower, snake-women who argued with me in Latin, and a Cyclops. I was sick of it. It wasn't like I was the weirdest thing they had seen. I'm sure the people in this camp were used to weird so why did they have to give the 'god-she's-strange' look to me.

"I wonder, you don't by happen to have any Latin-speaking Pegasi do you?" I ask and Jake raises his eyebrows. "Do I own a pair of snowmen boxers and a talking rabbit?" He answered and I sighed. "I'll take that as a 'no' then." I mutter. _"Salve Pegasi. Est nomen meum Aris Nightlark. Bonum occurrit,"_ I say. "What in Hades?" Jake asks. "Hello, Pegasi. My name is Aris Nightlark. It's nice to meet you," I reply, translating for him. _"Salve Magistra Aris. Desiderare te audivi equo. Ego sum Argentum Et Tempestatem,"_ A voice in my head whispers. I jerk back from the metallic-colored Pegasus in front of me. "I've found a Latin-speaking Pegasus." I remark and Jake raises his eyebrows. "That's—" He starts but I cut him off. "His name is Silver Storm and in Latin, his name is Argentum Tempestatem. I talked to him in Latin and he says…Hello Mistress Aris. I heard you needed a steed. My name is Silver Storm. I think he's willing to help me." I explain. Jake nods. "Silver Storm is a wild one. No one's been able to get close to him besides Butch, son of Iris, and that's only because Butch is really good with Pegasi. But besides that, Silver Storm doesn't like anyone nor does he find someone good enough to be his rider. He's chosen you." Jake says. "And I've chosen him," I add. What? Son of Iris? What in HADES? What's with the weird god and goddess talk? But, I've got bigger things to think about…like my sister dying by the hand by a living CYCLOPS? Yup, that's more important.

I unlock the barrier between me and Silver Storm. He obediently trots to my side and I smile. I swing myself onto his back and look at Jake pointedly. He gets on, much to the protests of Silver Storm, and we're off. The Pegasus Stables door flies open as Silver Storm barrels into them and when we get past those doors, Silver Storm spreads his wings and we take off into the sky. "Silver Storm, fly to the Cyclops. I must aid my sister," I say in Latin and Silver Storm bows his head. We fly towards the Cyclops and Jake yells over the wind in my ears, "I'm jumping for it! I prefer to fight on the ground!" I nod and Silver Storm drops low enough for Jake to jump off and roll sideways. When Jake's safely on the ground, Silver Storm shoots upwards again and I can see Rain on her dead Pegasus.

"Rainy!" I scream at her and she turns to look at me, holding a throwing knife in one hand and her butterfly knife in the other. "What are you doing up here? You've never been in battle! You'll get yourself killed!" She yells at me but I ignore her and tug on the charm on my bracelet. I notch an arrow and aim at the Cyclops' eye. I release the arrow and it goes flying into its eye. There's a loud bellow that sends both me and Silver Storm backwards from the noise as the arrow hits the bulls-eye, his pupil. "FILTHY DEMIGOD SCUM," The Cyclops yells and I cover my ears. "How dare you call me scum, you over-sized piece of cow dung!" I shout back, running out of insults. I hear Silver Storm snort. "Oh, shut up! I couldn't think of anything else to yell at him!" I mutter. "You call me cow dung! I will destroy you!" Cyclops howled and took a swipe at me. Silver Storm flew backwards quickly to dodge his hand and I chuckle. "Big words you have in your vocabulary, pea-brain! What happened to your face, by the way? Did someone throw a truck at you and squash your nose or something?" I taunt and honestly, I feel really stupid for insulting a monster like this. Silver Storm is throwing insults at it and I can hear it in my head. At least his insults made much more sense. I can't believe my own Pegasus could insult someone better than I could.

"Mean, bullying, cruel demigod is hurting me!" Cyclops whines and angrily tries to grab me. "SILVER STORM," I scream and the Pegasus gets us away by a hair. I scream curse words at the Cyclops, firing arrow after arrow at it. Rain is stabbing it with her dagger and the Cyclops bats her away as easily as swatting a fly. "HEY, IDIOT, YOU'D BETTER STOP HURTING MY SISTER OR I'LL BASH YOUR FACE IN!" I shouted and those were big words coming from someone who could barely hurt the Cyclops at all. At least, it got its attention. "WHO YOU CALLING AN IDIOT, DEMIGOD FILTH," The Cyclops roared. Oh gods, I was screwed big time right now. "Silver Storm, get me to the top of his head! I've got an idea and it's completely insane but it might work." I order and Silver Storm neighs in approval. We fly upwards so I'm not eye-to-eye with the Cyclops and he hovers just above the Cyclops' head. "I'm going to jump down. I'll probably fall as soon as my plan works so I'm counting on you to catch me." I tell Silver Storm. "If you're sure, Miss, but don't get yourself killed or anything! I'll be waiting at the bottom for you!" He assures me and I give him one last smile before I jump off his back and plummet down.

I drop on the Cyclops' head and he seems to feel it because he begins to vigorously shake his head, trying to get me off. I slip off and grab onto his ear to keep myself from falling. My nails dig into its flesh and the Cyclops howls in pain. "Oh shut up, you big baby!" I snap as I hurriedly begin to climb back onto the top of his head. God, please don't let me die. I drag myself up and collapse onto his scalp. His head is still shaking but it's slow enough for me to stand and balance without threatening to be pushed off. I slowly stand and my knees are shaking. When I'm finally upright, my whole body is trembling and I point my palms down. I close my eyes and shriek the one word I need to cast the spell: _"DISPLODO!"_ My palms begin to glow brighter and brighter until a loud 'BANG' sounds through the whole hill and I can feel the Cyclops slowly disintegrating. I pray to God to spare me just as the Cyclops' head turns to vapor and I plunged downwards to my death.

Only two words come out of my mouth as I fall, "SILVER STORM!" As I fall, blackness begins to eat me and I know any time now, I'll be unconscious. I shut my eyes as hard as I can and I don't know what to expect as I near the ground. But, I don't stay conscious enough to feel the ground. I can hear loud neighing—perhaps it's Silver Storm—and high-pitched screaming so familiar that I know it's Kass's. "ARIS!" I can hear someone else call but I'm too exhausted to notice if it's Rain or Kass this time. The only thing that I remember is the fact that—before I hit the ground—someone's arms wrap around me and catch me before I black out.

xxx

-RAIN-

Nico and I run down the hill simultaneously, both facing a Hellhound. I throw one right in his throat and he roars really loud. After two years of Camp Half-Blood, this is what I've been training for; I'm not going to fail now. He throws his paw up and is about to swipe me, I reach for another knife…crap. I've run out. His paw is about to slam into me when I run under him and jump onto his back. I go run up to his head and move to his ear, _"Eímai paidí tou Ádi̱, mou kánei kakó kai tha ypoféroun"_ I say. It means, "I am a child of Hades, hurt me and you will suffer." The Hellhound listens to me and responds, _"Kóri̱ tou afénti̱ mou, eímai káto̱ apó ti̱n entolí̱ sas."_ He said, "Daughter of my master, I am under your command." I look around to my left to see that Nico has just finished beheading a Hellhound himself, he seems to like beheading things. I hear a scream, one that I've heard lots of time before, it's Kass.

I see her running down the hill with Jake behind her. "Nico! Protect Kass with your life!" I shout. He nods in return and runs to Kass. I turn my attention to another Hellhound who's been watching me. I whisper to my Hellhound, "Follow my commands, Hellhound. Prepare to fight." I say. My Hellhound nods and runs forward to the other Hellhound. _"Epíthesi̱!"_ I scream, it means "attack". He bites the other Hellhound in the neck and it falls down instantly, dead. _"Sas ef̱charistoúme gia to érgo sas, antío."_ I say. It means "Thank you for your work, goodbye." I slit the Hellhound right in the throat with my butterfly knife and he falls down and I jump off.

I stomp my foot on the ground as a crack opens up, _"Écho̱ kalései máv̱ro ptó̱ma sas gia na anasti̱theí apó tous nekroús,"_ I command. I summon up my Pegasus, the black corpse or in Greek _"máv̱ro ptó̱ma"._ He rises up, looking the same as always. He bows before me and I give him a curtsy in return. I ride on top of him and we race towards Jake.

Jake's shooting a Scythian with his revolver when we arrive. The Scythian falls to the ground and he reloads his revolver. "Jake!" I scream. He looks at me and waves. "Look out!" He screams and before I can even react, I'm swiped by another Scythian on my arm. It stings and I signal Black Corpse to go forward. He runs and Jake shoots the Scythian behind me. "Thanks." I say. He gives me a smile and shoots the last Scythian. I smile in return and look around to survey the battle area. Holy Hell! I didn't notice the Cyclops over there.

I race to the Cyclops and start battling it. My throwing knives are back in my belt, spawning just in time. I aim a throwing knife and I'm about to hit the Cyclops when I hear Aris scream, "Rainy!" I look to my right and there's Aris. I scream at her a bunch of insults before we both have the Cyclops' attention. He starts to go towards us and I try to swipe him but all he's doing is pushing me away. Aris starts throwing insults back and forth between her and the Cyclops. I'm no expert in Latin but I'm pretty sure Aris' Pegasus was way better with the insults.

Finally Aris is able to kill the Cyclops with….I don't know. I've been watching it the whole time but I can't see at all what Aris just did. She put her hands on the Cyclops, screamed a Latin word, and a loud bang echoed through the clearing. I heard her Pegasus, if I remember she called him Silver Storm, neigh very loud. I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran forward to look for Aris through the thick smoke. When I got there, Nico had been able to catch her. I give Nico a look to see if he saw what I saw, but he returns it with a questioning look. He didn't see what Aris did. I don't understand it myself, but I know there's something off about Aris' powers.

I let go of those thoughts as I touch Aris. She's wounded very badly and needs to be medicated. "Bring her up to camp." I say, he does without any objections and runs to bring her up to camp. "Kass!" I scream, I couldn't see her anywhere. "Over here!" she says. I look over to her and see that she's also wounded. I go over to her and help her get secured on my Pegasi with me and we gallop over to Camp Half-Blood, where many curious faces look at us.

Chiron walks up to me, "What happened Rain?" he asks. "Monsters, lots of them. They were waiting for us." I say and I walk away. I carry Kass over to the medical wing. "Please take care of them." I say to Will, a son of Apollo. He nods and continues to work on healing both Aris and Kass. "What about your wounds?" he asks. "Theirs are more important right now, Will. Don't worry about it." I say. He gives me an uneasy look but follows.

I walk out of there and go to the forest. I sit on a rock and take a deep breath. "I knew I'd find you here Raindrop," says Jake. He sits down next to me and I look up at him, "I failed." I say. "We defeated them, how could you have failed?" He asks. "I failed. I was supposed to protect them, but they got hurt. What if they're permanently hurt now? What am I going to do?" I ask, the tears are threatening to spill but I don't let them. A child of Hades must not show weakness. "They will get better. Don't worry about it. Will is the best medic I know." He says. "Now come on, let's eat dinner." He says and offers me a hand. I take the hand and we walk over to the dining area. "Did you see that though?" I ask. "Yes." He answers. "How did she do that? How did Aris do that?" I ask. "I don't know any more about it than you do, Raindrop." He answers.

I sigh and we walk over to our designated tables, him at the Hephaestus table and me with Nico at the Hades table. "Thank you for protecting Kass." I say. He nods, "I know what it's like to want to protect a sister. Both Aris and Kass will be okay. Don't worry a thing about it. They're going to live." He says. "I know they're going to live, I just don't know if it can ever be normal again." I say. "What's a life of a demigod if it isn't normal Rain?" He says with a smile, and weirdly, I return that smile because it was very true. There was no such thing as a normal life for a demigod.

xxx

-Aris-

I woke up to a slightly throbbing head and feeling like I had been completely drained of energy but that didn't surprise me. I looked down at my clothes and I realized someone had changed them which was another thing that didn't surprise me. Instead of the white shirt, vest, and jeans, I was wearing another one of my signature outfits. It was a purple shirt, a black skirt, purple & black striped stockings, and purple and black striped fingerless arm warmers.

What did surprise me was that I woke up to see yet another stranger who seemed to know me even if I didn't know him. The guy sitting down next to my bed was blonde with turquoise eyes and tan skin. He looked athletic and pretty kind because he smiled at me in a way that wasn't wicked, mischievous, sarcastic, or holding some inward joke. It was a completely good-natured smile and I missed smiles like that.

"Hello, Aris. I'm glad you're awake." The guy said. "I'm Will Solace, son of Apollo and medic here in Camp Half-Blood." I smiled at him. "Nice to meet you," I replied. "You're the first person today that I've had a decent, nice conversation with. Rain and I have been talking lies to each other's faces because she didn't want to tell me about this place or being…whatever I am. I've been teasing Nico because the Mist slipped up and I suspected him. I've been arguing with Kass about him being a sword-wielding lunatic. Jake and I have been sarcastic with each other ever since we met and we hadn't known each other for even a second when he dropped a sarcastic comment. My conversation with Scythian Dracaenae and the Cyclops were basically just screaming insults at each other. Then, my Pegasus—Silver Storm—and I weren't doing much talking and it's just not normal talking to a Latin-speaking horse." Will cracked a smile and we both began to laugh. "Not having a good day today, are you?" Will remarked and I shook my head.

"First, my new batch-mate turns out to be a sword-wielding lunatic. Next, Kassie Cat doesn't believe me when I tell her. When she does believe me, Rain lies to us and convinces her that I'm just imaging stuff. My own sister lies about knowing said-sword-wielding lunatic who turns out to be her…brother? Well, I think they're brother and sister. I get pissed off and no one will go near me because they're scared I'll go all bonkers on them. Afterwards, I run right into the sword-wielding lunatic himself…literally, and catch him red-handed but he tries to glamour me or something. I get back to class and he's staring at me like I'm crazy. I get all his fan-girls to glare at me because they think he likes me. I get hyper during our last class and I have to handcuff myself to the desk just to stop myself from fidgeting and leaving. As soon as class ends, Kass and I get lost in the high school building only to be attacked by demonic cheerleaders called em-something or other. I fight them off with a trashcan lid and a broom. Rain and Nico come in and fight them off. And because I have pride issues, I feel useless and so much like a coward because I can't do anything to help. Afterwards, we get here by a carriage from the Underworld and get attacked by monsters, even a hellhound! I thought at least dogs would still like me but no! No such luck! Everything wants to kill me! I almost get skewered by snake-women, argue with them like a psycho until some sarcastic half-blood comes in. He lets me get a horse because I need to fight off a Cyclops that's about to kill my sister. I get rid of the Cyclops but drain all my energy and almost fall to my death. Today is definitely not my day at all." I say and Will's a good listener because not once does he interrupt.

When I'm finished, he leans over and ruffles my hair like a big brother would and I'm glad for the affection. It's almost normal to be treated that way and I feel stupid for showing weakness. But this once, I allow myself to complain and brat about my problems because I know Will isn't judging me. "You know…?" I say and he looks at me but it's not like I've sprouted snake-hair like Medusa or something. It's curiosity and I miss that look because it's not judging me or pointing out that something was wrong with me, not that I didn't know that or was proud of it but the way everyone looked at me made me feel like it was the wrong kind of weird. But I push away those thoughts because I'm being stupid. I had to accept what had happened and what I was. I had to accept it and move forward because I wasn't some weak little girl. I grew up to be a strong person and I was going to live up to that. Self-pity and weakness were two things I detested the most.

So, instead of saying anything else, I just answered Will's unspoken question. "It all started with a shooting star…" I said and suddenly, I was confessing everything. I told him everything strange that had happened to all three of us when we were small. I told him about my suspicions and how I couldn't bring myself to be mad at Rain even though she had lied so much to me because she was protecting me. I told him how I felt like she treated me like a child and how I didn't want protection. Will didn't judge so I kept going on. I told him about that Sunday night and the wish. I told him about everything that had happened since then, not missing a single detail. When I was done, I took a deep breath and I looked at him expectantly but I was hoping he wouldn't judge me. "That, Aris, sounds that the worst day to possibly have. But, it'll get better. I swear it will. You'll get used to be a demigod and when you do, you'll love it." He remarked. I beamed. "I hope it gets better and I'll hold you to that promise." I warned and Will laughed. "How about this, Aris? I'll be the one to show you around until dinner and you'll see how awesome it is to be a demigod." He offered and I grinned. "Where to first, tour guide?" I asked.

xxx

Will showed me every corner of Camp Half-Blood—a safe place for the children of the gods, explained what it was like to be a demigod—the child of a god, talked about camp activities, told me stories about the Titan War, introduced me to the campers, took me inside every cabin, explained how the campers were per godly parent, taught me names of monsters, and basically, squeezed every bit of information he knew about being a demigod and Camp Half-Blood into my brain.

He even taught me to fight. We practiced with my swords and I learned quickly. I shot down every target he asked me to when it came to archery—not always in the middle but that was good enough for me—and I proved to actually be decent in archery. Will also told me about the campfire sing-along tonight and we practiced a bunch of songs. I loved singing and Will was really good at playing instruments, being the child of Apollo.

The only thing that bothered me was that the Aphrodite girls were glaring at me but I easily ignored it. When I did point this out to Will, he just laughed and ruffled my hair. "They're always like that." He assured me and I was glad he didn't think twice about it. Will Solace was one of the nicest people I had met and that made it very hard to dislike someone like him, not that I was even trying to.

"Will, I have a question." I said on our way to the dining pavilion. "Shoot," He replied with an easy smile. "How are Kass and Rain?" I asked. Will grimaced. "Rain is mildly injured and she wouldn't let me heal her. In fact, she was more concerned for you and Kass. Kass was barely hurt. Nico was protecting her like Rain had asked. She's got some bruises and cuts here and there but a few sips of nectar and she was fine." He answered. I nodded. "That's good. I was worried…" I said. Will smiled and ruffled my hair again. "I happened to be the one fixing them up and I am a very good medic." Will assured me and I began to laugh.

"Anyway, speaking of Nico protecting Kass, do I sense a Niss (Nico x Kass) shipping?" I ask. Will grinned. "Jealous, Aris?" He asked and I began to giggle. "I'm straight, Will." I remark and he chuckled. "I meant about Nico. Are you jealous?" He clarified and I shook my head. "Not even a teensiest bit," I answered. "Aww…but Nico is _'so hot'_!" Will teased, mimicking an Aphrodite girl. I shook my head. "Is he? I hadn't even noticed!" I replied, playing nonchalant. Will rolled his eyes. "No matter how little feminine traits you have, you still have to admit. You noticed." He prodded. "Fine, fine, I did notice. But…Rain and I are sisters. You said Rain was the daughter of Hades so that makes her Nico's sister so wouldn't that mean that Nico would be my brother and that I'm a daughter of Hades?" I ask.

Will shrugged. "I saw that magic that you used. You can't be a daughter of Hades but be able to cast spells. It's fishy and that's probably why everyone's looking at you differently. Chiron was talking to Rain about it and I accidentally overheard them. Chiron doesn't think you and Rain are related but you have almost the same features. You both have Greek features, soft but also striking. Your eyes are shaped the same, like hazel nuts but her eyes are green and yours are…blue-violet, not quite blue but not quite purple either. You both have light skin that doesn't bruise easily but Rain's skin is more ivory and yours is cream and roses—with a natural blush. You both have dark hair, but hers is wavy and black and yours is dark brown and slightly on the curlier side. You two look too alike not to be related but…" He explained, drifting off.

"Maybe…we're cousins or something?" I suggest. "Yeah, that's possible. But whatever it is, there's one thing for sure." Will said. "What?" I asked curiously. "She got the taller gene." He answered and I glared playfully at him. "Sure, sure, pick on the midget." I muttered, holding back a giggle. "But you know. Rain's much prettier than me. She's curvier and taller. She also has a much better personality than I do. I'm quick-tempered and she's more patient. Rain's nicer than I am. I'm always causing trouble, playing pranks, and teasing people." I comment. "Are you insecure?" Will asked, disbelieving. I shook my head, smiling slightly.

"No, I'm not. I'm stating facts. Rain really is like that but I like being me. I like being the innocent-looking troublemaker. I love how people turn to me and know that I was the one who planned that mischievous trick. I like being impulsive, strange, quirky, and mischievous. I don't mind having short bursts of temper or being hyper or doing stupid stuff that almost gets me killed. I know Rain. She has just as many flaws as I do. She has trust issues. Rain has always been accused of being flirty but I know she isn't like that. She's just as daring and bold as I am. We're both strange in our own ways. We both can get easily annoyed. Rain is also nice if she likes you. She's outwardly pretty nice and I'm outwardly pretty innocent. But Rain can be really scary when she wants to be and I'm a complete devil on the inside." I reply. Will gives me a smile and musses my hair.

"You're much nicer than you let on, Aris." Will comments and I stick my tongue out at him childishly. "I'm not nice," I protest and he shrugs. "If you say so," He says but I can see the smirk he can barely hide. I decide to change the subject. "Who caught me?" I asked. Will raised his eyebrows. "What?" "I fell from the sky after the Cyclops vaporized. Someone caught me before I hit the ground and it wasn't Silver Storm. Who was it?" I asked. "Oh!" Will began to chuckle as he said, "Your favorite sword-wielding lunatic, Nico di Angelo." "…I should probably thank him but it would sound weird. Thanks for catching me after I fell from the head of a vaporized Cyclops. Sounds odd, right?" I ask and Will laughs. "Come on, Aris. Shelve your pride this once and just say thank you when you see him. You're always so blunt anyway. Does it matter how awkward it sounds? A thank you is just a thank you." Will coaxed and I sighed. "Fine, I'll thank him when I see him." I gave in.

A conch horn sounded in the distance and Will had told me it signified meals if not to announce the start of Capture the Flag. "It's dinner," Will comments and I look at the night sky. The days go by quicker during winter time. We run to the dining pavilion for dinner and I check up on Rain at the Hades table. I ignore the staring I can feel on my back as I walk over to them. Rain sees me first, sitting across from Nico, who I was standing behind. "Hey, sis, how are you? Will told me you were injured…" I ask. Rain looks at me and this time it's concerned. "I'm not the one you should be worrying about. It's you I was worried about." She replies and I wonder if it's just the fact that she's not supposed to show weakness.

"I'm fine. I was drained and I was sore all over when I woke up but Will is a really good medic and an even better tour guide. I would've gone to look for you but I needed some cheering up and Will offered to show me around. I learned to fight, checked on Silver Storm, went everywhere, and I also met a lot of people." I told her and Rain smiled at me. "I also met Chiron and he's so cool! In fact, he said I could sit with you two while I haven't been claimed." I add, taking a seat next to Nico. He looks up at me and I give him a small apologetic smile. "Thanks, by the way." I say, turning away and not looking at him. Rain gives me a pointed look and I know she's giving me the same message Will did. It's just a thank you.

When I turn to Nico, he's raising an eyebrow and I bite my bottom lip to stop from sticking out my tongue at him. I clench my fists and took a deep breath. "…Thanks for catching me after I fell from the head of a vaporized Cyclops." I say and it comes out so fast that even I can barely understand it. Then I realize I had actually thanked him using the joke that Will and I had been going over. Zeus, kill me now. Rain began to laugh and Nico smirked. I could feel my cheeks heat up but I didn't say another word, focusing on summoning food and drinks using the magic plates and goblets. "Can't you even say thank you normally?" Rain asked and I looked up, flushing a dark shade of red. "That was the 'fake' thank you that Will and I had been joking about! I wasn't supposed to say it that way, you know!" I exclaim and this time I bend my head low enough so that my bangs cover at least part of the embarrassed blush on my cheeks.

"…You're welcome," I hear Nico mutter and I look up, tilting my head sideways and giving him a questioning look. "What?" I asked. He sighs and looks away. "You're supposed to say 'you're welcome' when someone thanks you, you know." Nico says and I know he's teasing me. I look up and glare at him but I sigh. "I know that, Death Boy." I mutter, plastering an exasperated look on my face. "I'm sure you do, _Pixie_." Nico teases and this time, my glare is real. "If you're referring to the fact I do magic, then fine. But if you're calling me that because I'm small, I'm going to kick you _there_ so hard that you won't be able to reproduce." I warn and I can hear Rain laughing quietly. Nico shrugged indifferently, "What if it's both reasons, Pixie?" He asks and I growl. "You don't want to find out," I hiss. "You don't wanna find out, what?" A high-pitched voice asks and I look up to see Kass.

I shriek and jump out of my seat to hug the blonde-haired, rainbow-eyed girl behind Rain. "KASSIE CAT," I scream and tackle her. She manages to stay upright but I squeeze her in an infamous death hug until she tries to shove me away. "Aris, I can't breathe!" Kass gasps and I finally let go of her. "I was so worried. If Will hadn't told me you were all right, I would've come and see you!" I exclaimed and Kassie Cat—her signature blue cat-eared hoodie on—gave me a strange look. "Will, who?" She asks. "Will Solace," I answer, "Son of Apollo and our medic." Recognition lights in her eyes. "Oh! _That_ Will!" She says, clapping her hands. "When did you run into him?" Kass asks. "When I woke up, he was there. Umm…I was taking everything in and I ended up telling him everything so he tried to cheer me up by giving me a tour around Camp." I explain.

Kass gives me a weird look. "You spent the whole afternoon with _Will Solace_?" She clarified and I nodded. "Well…yeah," I answered. Kass sighed and sat down in my seat and I took a seat next to Rain. "So, did anything happen between you and him?" Rain asks and I can see devilish curiosity in her eyes. I don't know how to answer that one without sounding like either a liar or someone who was getting their hopes up because I was neither at the moment. "He showed me around. What did you expect to happen?" I say, giving her a weary look. "Wait, guys, I have a question!" Kass puts in and her tone is impatient. "What?" I ask.

"What does who not want to find out about?" She asked, her expression looking very concentrated like she wasn't sure if her order of words was right. "Nothing," Nico assured her but I gave him a smirk and he looked aggravated. "What I want to know is how you did it?" Nico asked, turning to me. "How did I do what?" I ask. "How did you kill the Cyclops? You did something but no one saw it. What did you do?" He asks. Rain looked at me and even Kass seemed curious. I give them the best answer I could. "I don't know. I said some sort of spell: _Displodo_. It's Latin for explode. Best guess is that I used an explosion spell. I don't know how I did it but I just knew it was the word I was looking for. I just pointed my hands at the Cyclops and said it. Then, my palms started lighting up like Fourth of July fireworks. There was a really loud 'bang' and the Cyclops turned to yellow vapor." I reply and honestly, I was telling the truth.

Nico and Rain exchanged questioning glances and I want to tell them that I'm right here and they know more than I do. I had every right to know what was going on but I didn't plead, or throw a tantrum, or even say a single word because I was done with it. I was done with acting like a brat, begging to know more. That was it for me. If they wouldn't tell me, I'd find out myself.

xxx

*Kass*

Fighting monsters makes anyone hungry. I woke up some country house call the Big House—I think they must've run out of ideas when they named it—and after some medic guy named like…Will Solstice or Solace or something. He said he was a son of Apollo. I asked him where Rain and Aris were. Apparently, Will wasn't very good with being asked where people were because he didn't know where Rain went off to and Aris was still out after that weird nuclear thingy she did. I wonder if the Cyclops exploded or she made it explode but whatever she did, it reminded me of a light show in New York that Auntie—yeah, that's what I call Aris and Rain's mom—took us to.

Anyway, I left Will Something-or-Other-That-Starts-With-An-S in the Big House and focused on looking for some food. Halfway to an open-air gazebo or something—I think it's called a...pavilion—I really wished I had asked Will where to get something to eat. That's when I spotted two campers up ahead. One of them was girl with blonde hair in a ponytail and wearing a ski cap and a bright orange shirt. The other was a black-haired guy wearing the same orange shirt. I ran over to them and tapped the blonde girl on the shoulder. She turned around and fixed me with calculating gray eyes. "Hi! I'm Kassio Coralov! I just got here and I woke up in the Big House. I'm really hungry and I wanted to know if you knew where to get food!" I asked, smiling at her.

The blonde girl gave me a small smile in return. "Hello. You must be Kass, the girl from the hill. I'm Annabeth Chase and this is my boyfriend, Percy Jackson." She replied. The black-haired guy—Percy—gave me an easy smile and raised his hand in greeting. "What's up?" He asked. "The sky…?" I answered, suddenly feeling unsure. …The sky was up right? I mean…that's what he meant? Percy laughed. "Well, yeah, but besides that." He said. "I'm hungry." I replied and this time I swore that was what he was asking about. "Mm, well, I've got some snacks in my cabin. I could get you some and maybe, show you around? You'll like it here in Camp Half-Blood." Percy offers. "What's with the Half-Blood? What are we? Half-zombie, because that would be gross but really cool! Or maybe, half-unicorn! But that would make us centaurs-ish and that's a bit weird. Or are we—" I began to rant but Annabeth cuts me off. "We're half-god." "Well…I suppose that's pretty cool too but I think half-zombies would've been awesome…"

xxx

Annabeth and Percy showed me all around camp. There was a rock-climbing wall that spat lava and made miniature earthquakes while you climbed up. There was the Pegasus Stables where I met with Silver Storm, Aris's Latin-speaking horse. Apparently, Silver Storm could speak Greek too, because we talked about how awesome ducks and rainbows were. We also had a conversation about my hair and I told him that Nico had said it was disgusting. That made Silver Storm let out a laugh that sounded like a snort and a neigh mixed together. He told me my hair was pretty strange-looking but it matched my personality. I had thanked him for it but Annabeth—who had tried to keep up with our conversation—told me it might've been an insult but I think being insane and having weird hair was perfect all right!

Annabeth and Percy also took me around to the cabins of the other demigods. They slept in the same cabin per godly parent. I hoped I wouldn't be a daughter of Aphrodite. They were all giving me weird looks and if Rain found out, she give them the finger and Aris would probably yell curse words at them and this time, it wouldn't be in Latin. Hecate, Goddess of Magic, seemed cool. Tyche, Goddess of Luck and Fortune, seemed pretty good too but I had luck like a black cat. Morpheus—God of Dreams—was pretty awesome but the cabin sort-of scared me. Iris—Goddess of Rainbows—was the best though. There were rainbows everywhere and the head counsellor, Butch, was really nice. He said that if I turned out to be a daughter of Iris, he'd let me paint a Nyan Cat on my side of the cabin!

Percy gave me some sort of seaweed, salty chips to eat and I wondered if—just because he was the son of Poseidon—he had to eat seafood or seafood-tasting stuff because if you were allergic to shellfish, that would suck for you. Percy assured me that wasn't the case though. Annabeth took my mind off it by letting me shop for deadly weapons. I picked out two revolvers but Annabeth also pointed out the red Swiss Army Knife in my pocket. I took it out and pressed the logo by accident when a foot-long blade made of what Percy said was celestial bronze, came out of the tip. Celestial Bronze killed monsters easily and it was really rare.

After that, Annabeth helped me train and fight. I lost about fifteen times straight before Percy suggested we go to Canoe Lake. When we got there, the water nymphs—Naiads—pulled me into the lake to show me how to make seashell necklaces and weave things underwater. I nearly drowned a few times and Percy had to cast water bubbles to help me breathe. I came out of the water soaking wet and Annabeth went to get me the luggage Nico had brought from home for us using something called Shadow Travel where you used shadows for portals. It must've been very dark and I wonder what Rain said to make him get our stuff.

I changed into rainbows-striped leggings, a sparkly white shirt, my mismatched Converse, and my blue cat-eared hoodie. Annabeth had said I looked like a five-year-old and Percy was too busy laughing to say what he thought but I heard something like, "Might as well be a rainbow for Halloween." I told Annabeth that I was trying to dress like Magnus Bane, a Warlock from the Mortal Instruments but she hadn't said another word about it.

After showing me around the rest of camp, I heard the conch horn sound and Annabeth and Percy told me to ahead to the giant gazebo thing—I'm pretty sure it is a pavilion—so I ran all the way there, singing the 'Mental Girls' song—a parody Rain, Aris, and I had made of the song Downtown Girls. Everyone probably thought I was psycho but I didn't really care. PSYCHO AND PROUD!

xxx

After dinner was done, the Apollo campers announced that it was 'Campfire Sing-along' at the Amphitheatre—which sounded a bit too flammable to be doing a campfire in—and all the campers ran out of the dining pavilion. Aris seemed to drag behind everyone and Rain and Nico were talking in whispers behind her. I ran to catch up with her and tried to cheer her up. "Aris, come on! We'll be late and Will Solstice won't be happy!" I exclaimed. Aris sighed and jogged a little faster to keep up with me. "Kass, we aren't going to be late. What do you think we are? Snails? We walk much faster than that. Besides, it's not Will _Solstice_. It's Will _Solace_." She corrected me, sighing exasperatedly. "Same thing," I say, waving her correction away. "Solace is means comfort or giving someone comfort or relief of emotions. Solstice is the longest or shortest day. They're completely different." Aris mutters, dragging even further behind.

I grab her arm and drag her forward with me. Aris is groaning and moaning stuff like, _"Te pedicabo, Kassio Coralov."_ I have a feeling it's not very nice so I don't ask what it means. _"Stultus cacas,"_ I hear her mutter when we're just a few feet from the amphitheatre. Aris straightens up and I let her go. We walk into the clearing and suddenly, I can feel glowing and hear gasps. Everyone in the amphitheatre is staring at us. "What's going on?" I ask, looking at Rain for answers. Aris grabs my wrists and points above my head. "…Kassie Cat, don't freak out. There's a rainbow over your head." She says, her tone trying to soothe me. "WHERE?! I wanna see!" I exclaim and then I realize that Aris has something over her head too. I begin to giggle. "Aris, your hair is on fire." I remark and Aris lets out a scream—she's pyrophobic—until she sees my expression.

"What's on my head?!" Aris demands. "It's two torches," I answer. "Two torches means what exactly?" She asks. Chiron—the scary centaur activities director—kneels down and everyone follows in suit. "Hail, Kassio Coralov, daughter of Iris—Goddess of Rainbows," Chiron announces and he sounds like he's speaking at my funeral. Then, he turns to Aris. "Hail, Aris Nightlark, daughter of Hecate—Goddess of Magic," He pronounces and his eyes are dark when he says it. Aris takes a step back and then, glares at Chiron. She spins on her heel and faces Rain with a look that could kill.

"…Is that what you and Mom were keeping from me? That you aren't my sister? That I'm not her daughter?" Aris snarled and her hands curl into fists. Rain opens her mouth but nothing comes out. I can hear Aris's voice shake and I know she's holding back tears because she's shaking from head to toe. "You both really fooled me. You really were a better liar than I gave you credit for, Rainy." She said and this time, her voice was colder than ice. The campfire turned dark blue—almost black—as she said it and I remembered that the campfire mimicked the emotions of everyone around it.

Aris took out a throwing knife, given to her by Rain during the battle at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill, and I freeze for a second. I expect her to throw it at Rain when she raises her arm but instead, the knife flies downwards and falls with a small 'thump' on the ground. "By the way, just like you, I don't need this. Thanks anyway, Rain." Aris hisses and I can hear the hidden insult. Like the knife, Aris didn't need her and instead of 'sis' or 'older sister', it was just Rain. Rain looked like she wanted to say something but Aris turned away.

"I'm making the campfire turn black. I'll go then. No need to ruin your fun, right?" Aris says and when she looks back at Rain, her eyes could freeze Hades over. There wasn't anything in her blue-violet eyes and her tone was hollow. Before Aris runs away, Rain runs towards her and catches her wrist. "I wasn't lying when I called you my sister. I didn't know." Rain whispered but Aris tugged her wrist out of Rain's grasp and ran for it. But even when she was out of sight, the fire still blazed black.

xxx

-Aris-

I couldn't see anymore. I was crying and crying, tripping on my feet and nearly banging into trees hard enough to give myself a concussion. I'm tripping around like drunk when I get to Canoe Lake. The Naiads look at me and pull me into the water. I don't fight it. The cold doesn't bother me and the water should mask my tears. I sit down in the water, using a water repellent spell to keep me dry. The Naiads are cooing and braiding my hair with sea flowers and shells. It soothing and I lean into their touch. I fall asleep and wake up to the dawn.

It's beautiful, for just a minute, until everything crashing down on me. Reality takes set and I get up. The Naiads had braided my hair, hung my clothes to dry, changed me into a sea-green dress with a cute white cardigan and mid-leg white socks to keep me warm. My boots are still on my feet and I'm glad for it. I stare into the water and my face looks like a hag. I have dark shadows under my eyes, I'm too pale to be healthy, my lips are almost white from the cold, and my eyes look like they sunk into my skull. I was a complete wreck but I felt much worse than I looked. I thanked the Naiads and I started running again.

I'm not paying attention to where I'm going. The only thing that comes to mind is: _Get out of there, Aris, before anyone else can see you_. So, I run and run until I see the Pine Tree passed the magic border. It's Thalia's Pine. Will had told me her story during the tour. Wrapped around the base of the tree, guarding the Golden Fleece is Peleus the Dragon. I get closer and closer, still holding back tears, before I pass the magic border. It seems like I wasn't running because the sun is up now and if I guessed, I'd say it was six in the morning. I drop to the ground just a few feet away from Peleus and the tears start to come.

These tears aren't like the thousands I've had before. These tears are the rare tears I shed, the ones that aren't tears of joy or anger. They're tears of sadness, pain, and betrayal. I had lost so much ever since I had become a demigod. I gave up my 'mother', my regular life, and everything I had thought was true. My beliefs had changed and I had learned that those things people called 'fantasies' and 'fairy tales' were real and they definitely as amazing as they were supposed to be.

In just a few short hours, everything my sister and mother had told me was lies. I wasn't just a normal, ordinary, too-imaginative-for-her-own-good child. I wasn't some regular, twelve-year-old girl who couldn't face the fact she didn't belong in a world so mundane. I was a demigod capable of fighting monsters, speaking Latin, casting spells, and even more extraordinary things. I was special and different…like I wished I could've been. But that one wish took its toll. I was faced with the truth…I had been lied to by two of the three people I trusted never to do that to me. It was the horrible, ugly, and cruel truth. So, maybe, it was for my protection and safety. But I was sick of being treated like I was incapable of helping myself. I was taught to accept whatever faced me, get passed every obstacle that stood in my way, and stay strong. So, why were the two people who had told me to always be that way the two people who doubted my ability to do so?

Wishes were cruel things. They gave you what you want but they twisted it so that you still got a bad deal no matter what happens. I wasn't the only one who had learned that. Kass had learned it too whether she knew it or not. Kass was simple-minded, optimistic, and naïve. She thought everything would work out in the end. She believed in happy endings. That's why nothing had really touched or changed her. That was I had taught Kass. I always insisted that no matter what happens, she had to keep her chin up and keep smiling…to be herself and stay the way she was through whatever problems came at her. But she was affected as well.

Kass's dream was true. She had dreamt of a glowing symbol of a rainbow, a woman in a dress made of rainbows, and the gates to Mount Olympus and she had wished that they had been real and she could be a part of it. Now, she had gotten herself in so much danger. She could've died on this very hill I sat on. And ever since she had passed the border, she would never be able to live a normal life. She'd always have monsters after her. Kass might lose her innocence and naivety on the way and that was one thing Rain, my 'mother', and I had sworn to protect. I feared for her more than I feared for myself.

Cold, wet tears slid down my face faster now and the feeling of wetness slipping down my cheeks was alien to me. I was used to hot, angry tears that threatened to cloud my reason. But even those tears were rare. I didn't cry often. I tried hard not to show weakness, to be strong. Crying wasn't a sign of being weak and I knew that. But I didn't want to be vulnerable in anyone's eyes. These cold tears were strange and I had to keep wiping them away as if to banish the stinging iciness that bit at my face. It began to snow and I cursed myself for being so impulsive. I should've brought a jacket because the cold was nipping at my exposed skin.

"Aris," Someone asked and I turned around to see who it was, hurriedly wiping away the tears before they could notice. The redness in my eyes would go away after a few seconds of not crying so I didn't worry about whomever it was seeing it. I never expected it to be Will standing there. He gave me in an easy smile and I was thankful for the fact that he didn't say anything about the tear tracks or my constant sniffling. Instead, he sat down next to me and smiled.

"You'll get sick out here, Aris. Honestly, you should've brought a jacket or something before you went running off." Will remarked as he dropped a thick, black snowboarding jacket into my lap. "Thanks," I say as I put it on. "So, wanna talk about it, Aris?" Will asked as I huddled into the jacket, grateful for the warmth. "You start," I reply shortly. "Rain really was telling the truth when she said she didn't know about any of this. She was doing this, lying to you, because she was trying to keep you from being hunted down from monsters. You should forgive her, really. It's not her fault. She was taking care of her little sister, you." He said.

"I know she was. I'm not mad at her but I needed someone to blame. I wish she had more faith in me but I understand why she did it and I'm not mad. But…I can't believe that I'm not—all these years, we were never sisters." My voice cracked and Will hugged me as tears began to flow down my cheeks again. "Hey, now, don't say that. You will always be sisters. Maybe not in blood, but you're tied together in bonds and that's something that stays. You could be nothing to her and someone else could be your sister but you'd still always consider her your sister because you grew up together, you loved each other like sisters, and you care for each other like real ones do. The fact that you aren't related does matter. Don't let it change how you look at her. She's still your sister." Will said and I nodded.

"I…need to talk to my mom. I need to know the truth. I have to know." I plead and Will nods. "You don't by any chance have a crystal and some sunlight spell, do you?" He asks and his smile is mischievous. I wipe away the tears and I laugh. "What are you planning?" I asked. "We're going to make a rainbow." Will answered and a minute later, we made one using a crystal and the rising sun. Will threw a drachma into the rainbow. "O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering! Show me… Karlen Nightlark at #35 Connecticut Road, Manhattan!" Will said, reciting my mother's name and address like he was reading it from the yellow pages. Suddenly, an image of a black-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged woman appears in the rainbow.

"Aris," Mom whispers and she looks disbelieving. "Forgot about your own daughter already?" I ask, teasing her. She laughs, a tinkling bell-like sound that I miss. "Of course not," Mom says. "I'm not your daughter though, am I?" I ask and her smile turns into a grimace. "Aris," She starts to say but I cut her off. "Answer me, Mom. I'm not mad. I'm not blaming you and I'm trying not to judge quickly. I'm not your daughter, am I?" I repeat. "No, you aren't. How did you find out?" Mom answers and I can see the apology and pain clear in her eyes. "I was claimed by my true mother whereas Rain had already been claimed by her father way before." I explain. "I contacted you so I could hear the truth, the whole truth."

Mom takes a deep breath. "You have to understand, Aris. You were too young. You wouldn't remember. It was twelve years ago. You were barely a year old. It was the day after your birthday. It was December 25th, Christmas. Your father…he died in a fire that happened in his company building. In his will, he begged me to take care of you. You were so small and we had constantly been seeing each other because you lived just a street away. I took you in as he asked and when you grew old enough and asked me who and where your dad was, I couldn't bear to tell you. I didn't want to hurt you because for those past years with us, you and Rain both thought you were sisters. I didn't want to admit that I had lied from the start. So, I said that Rain and your father had passed on which was true for both of you…in a way. But really, you're still family, Aris. You're still my daughter in your own right. You're just as much of a daughter to me as Rain and I don't ever want you to think different because I really do love you, Aris. Your father loved you very much too. He would've been proud to see you now." Mom said and her voice cracked at the end. "I love you too, Mommy. I love Dad as well and I wish…I knew. Was it his funeral that I attended? I barely remember anything besides a huge portrait of him next to the coffin and watching the coffin be buried." I asked and I hold back tears as well.

"Yes, it was. You two looked so alike, especially in that photograph. You had the same dimple on the left side of your mouth when you smiled. You had the same blue-violet eyes and the same sparkle in your eyes as he did. You both smiled the same too. Every smile you two gave came from the heart. You also had the same curly dark brown hair and mischievous glint in your eyes. Every time I looked at you, I saw him as well." Mom replied and I smiled sadly. "I have to go now, Mommy. I have to apologize to Rain. I need to make amends." I say and she nods.

"You two have to take care of each other and Kass especially. Follow your heart and let your instincts guide you. Stay strong, keep your chin up, and smile. Don't let anything change you. Remember what I taught you." Mom said and I nodded. "But lastly—and most importantly—don't forget that I love you, Aris. I really do." She whispered. "Love you too," I whispered and swiped a hand through the misty rainbow to cut the connection. Will gave me a supportive smile and a quick ruffle on the head before gently pushing me back to camp. "Rain's in the Hades cabin. I think it's time you tell her everything too." Will says and I grin. "What about you?" I ask as I retreat into the border. Will shakes his head and gives me a smile. "I'm right behind you!" He calls as I turn around. "Okay! See you later, Will! Bye, Peleus!" I run back into camp feeling light-hearted.

xxx

I run to the Hades cabin and burst in. I don't care if I wake Rain—though I doubt she could sleep—or Nico, because I'm sure that guy was nocturnal. Rain stands up from her bed like she's been electrocuted. "We're cousins." I tell her breathlessly. "I know." She says. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm sorry that I blame you for everything. I'm sorry I'm such a bratty little sister who can't even be grateful for the fact that you cared enough to try to protect me. But I'm still your sister, no matter what. You aren't getting rid of me." I say and Rain smiles slightly. "And here I thought I could get rid of you." She teases and I run and give her a hug.

When we let go, Rain gives me a devilish smile. "So, I heard from a certain someone that a bunch of Aphrodite girls are bullying Kassie Cat." She tells me. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" My grin matched the one Lucifer might've worn moments before he fell from Heaven. "We really are sisters." I answer and then, we're out the door to go kick some lip-glossed, manicured, bratty Aphrodite chicks' butts. No one, and I mean no one, hurts Kass. NO ONE!

xxx

RAIN

"I'm making the campfire turn black. I'll go then. No need to ruin your fun, right?" Aris says to me. Her eyes were so empty, so cold. She turned to run away but I caught her wrist before she could, "I wasn't lying when I called you my sister. I didn't know." I whisper. But she tugs her hand away and runs. My body feels unstable. "Rainy? Are you okay?" Kass asks me. I look at her and my eyes feel lifeless. "Your eyes…they're turning almost silver" She says. But I turn away and I run in an opposite direction. "Rain! Wait! Where are you going?" Jake screams at me. "Does it even matter right now?" I ask. And I run farther and faster than I ever have. When I finally stop running, I'm deep into the forest. I sit down because my body feels like it's about to collapse. When I sit I realize that the plants that I've touched look a bit wilted.

How was that even possible? She HAS to be my sister. How could she have not been? We grew up together and we've lived our whole lives together. ARGH! I'm sick of all this! Why couldn't we have lived normal lives? Why couldn't we be normal girls? Our lives were fine. WE were fine. We were safe and we were happy! I needed to release this anger, so I went to the training site of the camp. I threw knives at multiple dummies, kicking and punching them until my knuckles were sore and bruised.

It was only when Jake had wrapped his arms around me that I had realized how long I've been at the training camp. It was late at night and the stars were out, but not even seeing the beautiful stars could lighten up my mood. Jake faced me around and when he wiped away the tears. I realized I was crying and it was that realization that made me cry even harder. I was sobbing and it was uncontrollable. Jake just kept rubbing my back and listened to me. "Why couldn't we have normal lives? Why did we have to be pulled into this? Better yet, couldn't they at least have had normal lives?" I asked Jake. "Raindrop, I know you've never wanted this life. But it's something we all have to deal with. I don't know how it happened that you aren't sisters, but it did happen. Now you have two choices, either you stay here and continue beating yourself up or you go to Aris and you tell her the truth; that you didn't know a single thing about it either." He says. I nod, because he's right.

I get up, give him a quick hug and run off to find Aris. I look through the entire camp, but I can't find her! I decide that if I can't find Aris, I might as well talk to my lying, scum of a mother who didn't tell any of us that tiny, little piece of information that was not oh-so important. I go to a place near the Iris cabin, knowing they have a bunch of rainbows scattered around there. I get a Drachma from my pocket and say, "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." The bubble appears and there's my "mother" Karlen Nightlark of #35 Connecticut Road, Manhattan. "Rain Akantha Nightlark! Where have you been young lady?" She asks with calmness yet seriously. "Don't you "young lady" me! You lied to us and how could you make us believe that we were sisters?" I say. I don't scream but my tone is so cold—almost uncaring—that it makes her surprised. "What was I supposed to do? Her father, my brother, died in a fire when she was just a baby. She would never have remembered and I didn't want her to feel left out." She replied. "So you lied to us? You made us believe that we were sisters just so she wouldn't be "left out"? Do you understand what you've done? She probably won't trust me anymore." I say.

"What do you want me to do? What's done is done. I have no regrets in this." She says. "What do I want you to do? Here's what I want you to do. When this message is over, I want you to talk to Aris. Don't call her. I'm sure she'd call you first and you tell her every single thing you've been making me hide from her." I say. "She's so young! She can't possibly understand everything." She remarks. "I don't care! You tell her the truth! She may be young, but she understands more than you will ever know. She's smarter and sharper than you think she is. Tell her the truth. Tell her everything. And if I find out that you didn't tell her everything, we're not coming back." I say and I wave my hand through the mist before she can even make up an excuse. I turn around and walk back to my cabin, knowing there's no way I can find Aris. She's way too small to be found in this huge camp.

I go to the door of my cabin and twist the lock. The only way to enter is if you're able to move the skeleton in the right position. I enter and see that the room is lightly lit with blue fire. I go over to my part of the room, where my band posters, clothes, books, and other things are. Nico is already asleep and has his earphones on so I doubt he'd hear a single thing at all. I lay down on the bed, not even bothering to change out of my clothes. I just stare up at the ceiling, where I had that part of the roof changed to glass so I could see the stars. Well, of course Nico also decided that he'd have parts of the floor changed to glass so that we could look at our friends from the underworld from time to time. I looked up and I probably lay there for hours because I watched the sun rise and by 7:30 the door was slammed open by Aris.

When I looked up at her, she looked as bad as I did, eye bags and all yet her hair was pulled in a braid and she wore clothes like she was dressing for summer except for the huge snowboarding jacket around her. "We're cousins." She says. "I know," I reply. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm sorry that I blame you for everything. I'm sorry I'm such a bratty little sister who can't even be grateful for the fact that you cared enough to try to protect me. But I'm still your sister, no matter what. You aren't getting rid of me." She said and hearing her say that made me smile a little. "And here I thought I could get rid of you." I say teasingly. She runs to me and I hug her. That hug gave me comfort and it made me feel better than anything else in the world could have. When we let go I give her a devilish smile and tell her what I heard some girls talking about right outside my cabin.

"So, I heard from a certain someone that a bunch of Aphrodite girls are bullying Kassie Cat." I tell her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I ask. "We really are sisters." She replies with a smile that would make even my father scared. We run out and on the way I can't help but stop in the bathroom and fix my hair and my clothes. I retie my combat boots and change my black top to a dark blue one. I wash my face and my butterfly knife. I wouldn't want Hellhound blood there all the time. "So how would you want to scare them?" Aris asks with probably a thousand and one crazy ideas running through her head. "Let's play with their minds first, then we can go kick some ass and maybe scare them a bit. Oh, and maybe you can put some curses on them too, sis." I say. She smiles when she hears me say that and fixes her clothes that look so innocent, hiding the devil child within. She drops the jacket on bed before we go so that she looks even more innocent than someone like her should look.

We go over to the Aphrodite girls to see them talking to Kass. She looks like she's on the verge of tears already. I tap one of the girls in the back and when she turns around, her eyes sparkle a bit. "Look who came to join us! The dead flirt and midget witch," She says. The girls turn around and when Kass sees us, she runs over to us and hides behind my back, hugging me from behind. Aris rubs her back few times and then looks at the three Aphrodite girls with a mischievous smile. "What did you guys say to my Kassie Cat?" She asks sweetly, too sweetly might I add. "We just told the little scum that she's got too much pride for someone who had below average looks." One of the girls says. Aris closes her hand into a fist, like she's going to punch one of them. I put my hand on her shoulder and give her a look to say settle down. "Says the girls who compare only to a hag! Kass is much prettier than you'll ever be! I'm not going to call you a slut. I'm going to call you a penny because you're two-faced, worthless, and in everyone's pants!" Aris hisses before she takes two deep breaths and calms down.

"Listen here girls. You guys should probably keep your whore-mones down before I let little Aris over here kick your asses. One, I am _not_ a flirt. You say that one more time and I will turn your faces into the face of an old grandmother. Second, you do not talk about Aris' height. _Ever._ She will probably turn you three into tiny little hamsters if you talk about it more. Third—the most important one—you do not hurt, speak, touch, or even _look_ at Kass unless it is about praising her. You got that? And oh, you don't even want to know what we will do to you if you break the third rule." I say. And after all of that, all three of them decide to say one thing each.

One says "flirt", the other says "midget", and the last one says "walking crayon" and that does about it. Aris says, _"Iungite."_ And suddenly it's like the girls are tied to the ground and can't move. I laugh and move to one of the girl's faces and gently touch her cheek. As soon as I touch it, her face turns into the face of an old hag. Aris laughs devilishly as I touch the faces of the other two girls. "Chiron will never let you guys get away with this!" One of the girls says. "Oh? What he doesn't know won't hurt him." I say sweetly. "Kassie Cat, do us a favor and go over there and tell the girls that they never saw anything and that they're all a bunch of ugly sluts. All right?" Aris asks and I know she's pissed because Aris rarely curses with that much intent. Kass smiles and does exactly that. We run off and laugh our way to the dining area.

xxx

AN: Mwahahaha! 13, 517 words! Next chapter's up too! Review?


	4. Chapter Three

Word Count of this chapter: 6,070 (inclusive of the Author's Notes)! Not as long as the last chapter but who cares? The next chapter will be out Saturday. I'll be updating every two or three days! I do not own PJO (thank the gods for that). :D Anyway, point is, I hope you liked the last chapter and it was long so this chapter and the one after this is pretty short compared to it. Yes, Kitty and Kass are both about as dense as they seem. Kitty can be as bad as Kass sometimes. XD But other times, Kass can be really stupid. It's part of being her. That's why I love writing as Kass sometimes. It's hard 'cause gods, I am not that much of a Stultus Cacas but it's quite enjoyable reading her POVs. It's WRITING it that can be frustrating. Anyway, read, review, and enjoy! ;) Hope you like this chapter! Flames will be taken care of Jake and Leo! :D

-Eve E/Aris

XXX

Prank-a-Thons, Crazy Antics, and Every Day Camp Life

RAIN

After eating breakfast with everybody, we went off to our own rooms to get dressed. I rushed to get dressed but it's not like I had to actually take time to decide what to wear, most of my clothes were the same, black pants, dark tops, and combat boots. Sadly, I had to put make up on to cover up the terrible eye bags beneath them. I was out the door in no time, I ran as fast as I could to my first class, Ancient Greek. For once, I actually went through a class without my head going bonkers because of my being dyslexic. Greek was in my blood and it was hardwired into my brain.

When I arrived to my class, it turns out that Aris was in my class too, though she looked pretty sleepy and lack of sleep plus Greek doesn't mix well with her. Throughout the class, I saw Miranda Gardiner helping her so I was very grateful.

I left that class to go to Polishing Armor; which was a bore, so I didn't really pay attention to it much. The next class was Archery and even though Aris and Will were in that class, the sport still was something I was uninterested in. Though I couldn't help but notice that Aris was incredible good at it, so good that she helped Nico, which was quite funny because Nico was as stubborn as her.

My next class was better because it was Greek mythology with Kass…and the Aphrodite Cabin. "Kassie Cat!" I screamed. Kass turned around, saw me, and of course ran at full speed to jump on me. We laughed and fell down. It was normal. "How's your day been, Kassie Cat?" I ask. "Fun! I had a few classes with Jake and I was able to annoy him a lot!" She replies cheekily. I laugh and we enter the class. I sit next to Kass and the class drags. The highlight of the class was when Drew and her minions tripped Kass and me.

"Oopsie, didn't notice you there, hun." Drew said and her minions laughed. "It's no biggie, hun." I reply with the same nasal voice she has. I turn around and help Kass up. "Let's go, Kass." I say and she nods, but not before sticking her tongue out at Drew. I smile evilly as I summon some skeletons to trip all of the Aphrodite girls. I can't help but laugh when I hear all their screams but Kass and I are already out of there.

Lunch flew by, and Annabeth helped me out during the Riding Rapids activity. Before I knew it, it was Cabin Clean-up with my lovely brother. Note the sarcasm. We were on the way there when Nico stopped right at our door. "Nico? Why'd you stop?" I ask. "We need to change the lock. It's too easy for the Hecate girls," Nico replies. "Ahh, then I guess we'll just put a spirit as our lock. If it's not you or me who enters, then it'll kill them." I say. He nods, "Great idea, but I also want spirits to guard the whole cabin. There are so much ways people can easily get in and out." He answers. "Alright, we'll do it tomorrow. Right now, we have to clean the cabin." I say.

We enter the cabin and truthfully, there's not much to clean. Nico and I were pretty neat. "Wanna rearrange a bit?" He asks with a smile. "Sure! What's on your mind?" I ask. "Well first let's change the floors, let's make it pure glass." He says. We rearrange the whole cabin, changing things here and there. By the time we're done, our cabin could have been on MTV! Cribs. The day goes regularly. By regularly, I mean the usual teasing and laughs: Aris, Kass, and I having fun around camp and Jake and I hanging out in the forest.

I fall asleep listening to my iPod, feeling calm. Little did I know, the surprise waiting for me in the morning. I woke up and lazily dragged myself to the bathroom and washed my face. I went out and surveyed our room, glass floors, glass ceiling, band posters, library, pink stickers, and blue flames. WAIT, WHAT?! I looked at our whole cabin and saw all the pink stickers and pink items and just PINK EVERYWHERE!

"NICO!" I shout and then I realize he's not in his bed anymore, meaning that he found out before I did. Our cabin looked like a Barbie house, and the gods know I hate those. I looked through the whole cabin, definitely the work of Aris and Kass. But something was wrong. This obviously was more for Nico than me, hence pinker on his side. So what was left for me? I went outside and saw that other campers had also been hit by the Aris and Kass prank team. It was only when I saw the whole camp did I notice what was for me…._bras_. More specifically, _my bras_.

She showered our cabin in my black bras and when I saw the flagpole, any guesses on what was on it? My black bra with the words, "Rain's bra is so damn sexy! –Aris and Kass." When I read that I did the oddest thing, I laughed. Out of all the things to do, I laughed. I wasn't quite mad, though the whole camp has probably seen those now, but it was quite funny to relive the memory of us having a joke about that. I walked through the entire place and saw Will Solace sitting on the steps of his cabin.

"Hey Will," I greeted him. "Hey there Rain, it's odd. You're not mad. Haven't you seen the flagpole?" He asks. "Oh I have, believe me. But this is nothing compared to what happens at home." I reply with a smile. He chuckles and nods his head. "So, what did they do to your cabin?" I ask. "Well, they let loose some rabbits and dressed me in a bunny suit." He said with a shudder. I laughed, "At least they weren't that harsh." I reply. "That's very true. You should see what they did to the Aphrodite girls." He says, and seeing the sort of devilish but still happy look on Will made me laugh. "I better go see that. Bye Will!" I shout out as I run all the way there and OH MY GODS. Any tiny hint of anger I had for Aris and Kass was gone. THEY ARE GENIUSES.

I laughed as I saw the green haired girls outside their cabin. "Nightlark!" Drew barked at me. "Oh, yes hun?" I ask her. "You better watch those rats who did this!" She said, and when I didn't reply she added, "What? You deaf now?" I gave her a surprised look, "Oh? You were talking to me? Sorry, I thought you were talking about yourself and your green-haired friends behind you." I replied. She rolled her eyes and I walked away. "Nice bra by the way." I heard one of the Aphrodite girls mutter. I turned around and plastered a bright smile on my face, "Thank you! Though I don't think my bras would fit your tiny little mosquito bites that you call boobs and there's also the fact that your green hair would just clash with it." I say. She flips her hair and I walk away and laugh. Aris and Kass are so freaking awesome right now, I can't wait to tell them.

xxx

-Aris-

After the incident with the Aphrodite girls and breakfast, I wasn't in the mood to see any more of those fashion-know-it-all, make-up-wearing, air-headed Barbie Dolls. It didn't help that I had a throbbing headache from lack of proper sleep and that my muscles were sore from sleeping on the rocky bed of Canoe Lake. I barely got any time to shove all my belongings in the Hecate Cabin and change into something that was actually warm before activities started. That 'something warm' happened to be a dark blue hoodie over a light blue tank top and some faded jeans with blue Converse.

I wasn't in too good of a mood because my first activity was Ancient Greek and I swear, my headache got worse right after. Apparently, my brain doesn't do too well with Greek. I could speak, understand, and read Latin like I had known it for years. It came to me like an instinct, especially during spell-casting. But I couldn't say the same for Greek. Rain was dyslexic so her brain was hard-wired for Greek. It wasn't as easy for me since I didn't have dyslexia but added with the fact I sucked in Greek, it made my life a living Underworld.

Miranda Gardiner—a daughter of Demeter—was tutoring me. She was really good in Ancient Greek and it was much easier to understand all the weird signs with her helping me. She was also a friend of Kass and I liked her even more. When Ancient Greek was done, Miranda was teasing me about being born reversed since I couldn't speak Greek but I could understand and talk in Latin. She departed to her next activity and I went to the Strawberry Fields to pick strawberries with my siblings for my next activity.

Most of the activities were fine after Ancient Greek until archery with the Hades Cabin and half of the Apollo kids. Archery was my strong point so it was pretty fun. Rain was firing arrows like she had practiced quite often. Most of her arrows nailed close enough to the bulls-eye but she seemed disinterested and sometimes, the arrow flew completely off. Nico looked like he was in pain, his face contorted in concentration as he aimed. His arrows got to the first two outer circles of the target but he seemed to be lucky enough to get into the third circle from the outside.

Will and I exchanged looks from across the archery range. I made a big show of notching an arrow, aiming, and releasing it. I flew in a miraculously straight arc and nailed the bulls-eye. I grin and Will gives me the thumbs-up, grinning. I laughed and Rain and the Apollo camper next to me turn to look at me. I look away and notch another arrow. I had taken archery for four summers straight so I was pretty good at archery. It was using one weapon that I had problems with. Both hands should be moving for me to be comfortable. I couldn't use spears or throw javelins because they felt weird in my hands and I could throw knives like Rain could do archery. It was either a direct or close hit or a complete miss.

I was showing off and involved in a match against an Apollo kid. She was really good and I was keeping up with her at a decent pace. We had both missed the bulls-eye thrice when Will calls me over. "Aris, could you come over?" I appear at his side, giving the girl a time-out sign. "Yes?" I ask, looking at him expectantly. "Teach Nico, would you? I think he'd feel better if it wasn't one of us Apollo kids showing off about how good we can shoot targets because our father is the god of archery." He whispers and I nod. I move over to Nico and he barely glances at me. When he lets the arrow fly, it completely misses the target.

"Will told me to help," I comment when Nico faces me with raised eyebrows. "I can shoot targets on my own, Pixie." He mutters and I can tell he's embarrassed. "Notch an arrow. I'm going to help you." I say and Nico looks at me like he wants to protest but I cross my arms and fix him with a commanding gaze. He does what I ask, muttering about being treated like a child, and it's hilarious. I flick him on the spine and Nico turns to glare at me. Someone was anti-social…"What are you doing, Pixie?" He asks suspiciously. "Loosen up and don't make faces please." I tell him and he scowls before obeying. "Draw back and loose it," I say and he releases the arrow. It flies straighter and manages to hit the corner of the second circle from the bulls-eye.

Nico turns to face me and I give him a questioning gaze. "What is it?" I ask when he doesn't reply. "So, Pixie, how did you do it?" He asks and I can't help the surprised look that crosses my face. There were a lot of things I did that I wasn't supposed to, so I wonder which it was. "What are you talking about?" I reply with question. "I was awake when you barged into the Hades cabin. How'd you open the door if you need to control the skeleton to the right place to get the door to open?" Nico asks. I shrug. "I just asked it nicely to see Rain." I replied and that was partially the truth. "What have you done to our skeleton?" He asks and this time his tone is suspicious. "I didn't do anything. I just threw the door open and used an 'unlock' spell." I answered.

"You really are a daughter of Hecate, huh?" He remarked and it wasn't a question. "Got a problem?" I ask. "Not at all. In fact, I'm glad you aren't my sister, Pixie." Nico replies. "Is that an insult, di Angelo?" I retort, defensive. "Not even a little," He assures me. "I just don't think that having you as a sister is better than just having you as a…" and he doesn't continue it. "Friend?" I ask. "If we're friends," Nico shrugged. I hit him lightly on the arm. "You don't have too many friends, do you Death Boy? But don't worry; I don't mind being one of the few." I tease and he gives me a glare but it softens and Nico di Angelo actually gives me a small smile. "YO, LITTLE WITCH!" Jake's voice rings through the archery range and I flinch.

I turn and glare at the offending son of Hephaestus. I had known him for barely a little while but he grinned at me in a mischievous way that made me think we were actually long-time friends. "Don't call me little, Superman Killer." I mutter. "I think I'd remember if I killed some guy in a red and blue spandex." Jake shouted back, nearing me. "If I'm not mistaken, Superman's weakness is kryptonite and isn't that what Rain calls you? Kryptonite like Jake Krypton?" I call back. "No, you are mistaken. Superman is the guy who got bitten by a radioactive spider." Jake yelled sarcastically. "That's Spiderman, Stultus!" I reply loudly. "Don't play games with me!" Jake smirks.

"I'd prefer you didn't insult me in Latin. I'd like to know what you're calling me." He replies. "I called you 'stupid'." I say nonchalantly. "Quite blunt, aren't you, Tiny Sorceress?" Jake remarks. "Shut up about my height! Just 'cause you are all so much taller than me doesn't mean you can tell me that I'm short! I already know that!" I hiss before stalking off to my next activity. I can hear both Jake and Nico laughing behind me but I don't turn around. Damn those taller people!

xxx

Greek Mythology was easy and my cabin had it with Morpheus, Nike, and Nemesis. Lunch came around and one of the Aphrodite girls, Drew, dumped her lunch all over me. I mean, honestly, she could've been more creative. I walked over to the fire, sacrificed a portion of my food to Hecate, and then went back over to sit down at my table when she literally ran into me. Warm soup splashed all over my clothes, ice-water spilled on my head, and the only thing she left on her plate that didn't get on me were the mashed potatoes. Naturally, I began to laugh uncontrollably.

"I'm _so_ sorry, honey. I really didn't mean to!" Drew apologized with a smirk on her face. I giggled. "You're about as genuine as fools' gold. Gods, learn to act better." I said, smiling at her. "So, I'll be just as genuine as you and say, _'It's totally fine, Drew'_." Then, I took my ice-cold Coke in a can, grabbed her shirt front, and poured the drink right down underneath it. She screamed and I shoved my strawberry pie in her face. "Oops, my hand slipped." I teased her before shoving her backwards so that she toppled onto the floor.

"You bitch!" Drew screamed and I began to giggle. "See, I can be just as fake as you are but the thing is, I really wouldn't have meant to do that if you hadn't _accidentally_ spilled your lunch all over me. So, next time you wanna be doing this, remember that I'm going to get you back _seven-fold_ for it. Just a warning, okay_, hun_?" I hiss and my smile is sickly sweet when I look at her. Drew glares daggers at me but she's covered in cream and strawberry jam that I don't take her seriously. "I'll get you for this, _Midget Queen_." She snaps and that does it. No more 'Miss Nice Girl' for me.

I turn to her and glare at her before bending down. "You know, Drew, my head hurts. My back is aching. I've changed twice today already and I'm really sick of people insulting my height. So, I'm warning you. You call me short one more time and I will turn you into a guinea pig." I hiss and it's loud enough that everyone in the pavilion can hear me. Then I stand up and point my finger at her. _"Expelle a conspectu meo,"_ I say. Banish from my sight. Drew goes flying and she lands right outside the pavilion with a groan.

"Aris, that's enough." Chiron warns and I turn to look at him. I shrug indifferently. "The wanna-be-Barbie-Doll will be fine unless she can't handle some food all over her and maybe a bruise or two." I reply before walking out of the pavilion to change clothes for the third time today. When I make it to the steps, I can see Drew a foot away, glaring. Instead of saying anything, I pass her and flip her off. "Better not do that again, sweetie. Because next time, you'll be a rodent," I warn her.

xxx

I had changed into a white tank-top, denim shorts, and sneakers for the next activity, volleyball with the rare race of make-up-wearing, designer-heeled, sparky-clothed piranhas from the Aphrodite Cabin. Gods, those girls made demonic empousae cheerleaders from the Underworld look like cute little bunny rabbits.

My sister, Lou Ellen, was waiting for me at the volleyball court. "Aris," She said, relieved. "Look who decided to come and join us, girls. It's the Midget Queen!" Drew cackled and I rolled my eyes. "Fay," I say, looking at Lou Ellen and calling her by my nickname for her. She doesn't have to ask 'what' to know what I needed. "Got it," Lou Ellen answered, beaming at me. I turn to Drew and this time, I don't hesitate._ "TRANSFIGURO: Guinea Pig,"_ I shout and there's a popping sound and purple smoke.

When the smoke clears, Drew's sparkly pink top, short black skirt, and flats are littering the ground. There's a lump moving under her clothes and one of the Aphrodite girls picks up the shirt to reveal a black and white guinea pig with pink eye shadow, black eyeliner, and lip gloss. It has brown eyes like Drew does and its squeaking so loudly you'd think it was possessed. I grab the guinea pig and hold it up to look at me. "Aww…how do you feel, _sweetie_? Isn't it horrible being so tiny? I think I'll keep you like this. You are _definitely_ much cuter this way." I giggle. _"Iungite!"_ Lou Ellen says and invisible ropes tie the other Aphrodite girls to the ground.

Drew the Guinea Pig tries to bite me and I nearly drop her. "What a bad little guinea pig you are! That's no way to be!" I say, my tone is dripping with sarcasm and I squeeze the guinea pig in my hands tightly. "I'll make you my stress ball if you do something like that again!" I warn her in a sing-song voice. "So, be a good guinea pig and _be silent_!" This time, that part comes out as a hiss and I have control my anger before I squeeze Drew to death. "Gag them, Fay." I order my sister and Lou Ellen nods_. "Silentium,"_ Lou Ellen whispers and the Aphrodite girls' voices die in their throats. They open and close their mouths, probably trying to scream, but nothing comes out. "So, guys, how about some volleyball?" I ask my siblings. My little sister, Mageía, takes Drew from me and we file into the volleyball court. Volleyball was starting to become my favorite activity.

xxx

Our next activity was Cabin Clean-Up with our siblings at the Hecate Cabin but the thing is, since our cabin is pretty clean, it becomes more of a game than actually cleaning up. The Hecate Cabin is made of different blocks of stone with multi-colored symbols written on them that each contains a different spell. If you accidentally touch the wrong ones, something really bad could happen to you.

The gray blocks shine and glow with red, blue, green, purple, silver, yellow, and white magical symbols and the roof is literally glowing with magical energy. There aren't too many of us children of Hecate. There are a total of eight campers that sleep here so we each get our own beds with drawers that are carved into the base of it so that we could put our personal belongings in them. There are also multi-colored trunks at the end of each bed that were locked and could only be opened by a certain passcode. My trunk was silver with glowing white stars on it and my name, Aris, carved into it—glowing as well. My code was the Latin phrase, _'Argentum Lumen Stellata' _which meant Silver Light Star.

The walls of the Hecate Cabin were glowing with different colors depending on the emotions of the people inside it. At the moment, the walls were light blue, pale green, glowing gold, and baby pink. The floor of the Hecate Cabin was tiled with pale-colored squares with symbols on each one and the ceiling was enchanted to show the sky as it was at the moment. Right now, fluffy white clouds passed slowly across a blue-gray sky and rays of pale sunlight pierced through them. Snow hadn't begun to fall yet in Camp Half-Blood but it did somehow feel like winter.

Besides, if it did snow, we were ready. The Hecate Cabin had a dark blue fire place just across the door but there were always live-flames of Greek fire in it—though the room wasn't stuffy or uncomfortably warm. It was a tradition to put one item that represented you on the mantel. When I got here, I made a sculpture of a three-dimensional star with some special wood that glowed in the dark and placed it next to Lou Ellen's papier-mâché symbol of crossed-torches. The torches were like the ones outside the cabin, right on the roof.

My sister, Mageía, had formed a key during a weapon-making activity. A key was another symbol of our mother, Hecate. She had put it on the mantel piece and it matched the one above the door of the cabin. The mantel also had a pot of never-wilting silver roses that my sister had made as her addition. We had a wooden fox, a glowing blue butterfly statuette, a small wooden sculpture of my mother, and a painting of crossed roads where a woman stood, holding a two torches on the mantel. There were eight things there, each one made by one of us. It was…special and when I had put my addition on the mantel, I felt like part of the family. I wonder if that mantel was magical or if the items on it were really a tradition to put on it.

Anyway, Cabin Clean-Up began and my sister, Aster, had pronounced that we be productive and clean. Lou Ellen, being the head counsellor, had the final decision. So, being the daughter and sons of Hecate, cleaned…with magic. Austin was putting away his stuff, levitating his belongings into his trunk and drawers. Lyra was controlling feather dusters to sweep away dust from the room, one time accidentally sweeping Aster's hair and I don't know how she mistook Aster's hair for dust in the first place. Aster was controlling brooms and dust pans to go around the room and sweep up the messes. Lou Ellen was summoning a mop. Shane was busy using a folding spell on his newly washed clothes and making them fly into his trunk. Mageía was singing a song by 'Lifehouse' while using a spell to fold her blankets and fix her bed. Steven was organizing spell books and wiping down the windows. That left me to summoning brooms to sweep the outside of the cabin, watering the magical herbs, and climbing onto the roof to sweep off the leaves on it.

Our cabin was clean, spotless, and perfect in under five minutes, which was record timing especially for only eight demigods. The cabin counsellors did rounds in the morning for cabin inspection so we had to keep in the same way for next morning's inspection. The cabin with the lowest score had to do kitchen duty. Lou Ellen assured me that we had always had high scores so there wasn't much to worry about.

Cabin Clean-Up lasted an hour and thirty minutes so we all just ended up lounging around for most of the time. I turned on my iPod and listened to some music by Linkin Park, Show Me the Skyline, Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, All-American Rejects, and P!nk while reading volume fourteen of Fairy Tail, the manga I had borrowed from Kass. When I had finished that and volume twelve of Pandora Hearts, I settled for reading Good Omens, a book Rain swore was good and pretty funny. I had made it three-fourths of the way into the book when our activity was done. Free time was next and that gave me another hour to do whatever I wanted so I put down the book and went to go look for Kass.

xxx

It was impossible to spot the blonde, rainbow-streaked hair or the rainbow colored top or even the cat-eared blue hoodie. "Kassie Cat," I called and the daughter of the Rainbow Goddess turned to me with a smile that could like up Mount Olympus. "Aris," She exclaimed, running over to me. "You turned Drew in a guinea pig!" Kass said, giggling and I waved her off. "She called me 'Midget Queen' and I really wasn't in the mood." I shrugged. "She makes a cute guinea pig." Kass laughed. "Yeah, she does! But the thing is, when the spell wore off, she wasn't wearing anything." Kass told me, shuddering. I laughed. "Gods, that has to be worse than being a guinea pig." I remark.

"Well, look, I was thinking of doing a prank-a-thon on the whole camp and I needed a partner in crime. I'm going to ask Rain to help but I have a prank for her and I don't want her to find out so I have to ask someone else for help. Wanna join?" I ask. Kass grins. "Yay! We get to prank everyone?" She asked. I nod and her smile becomes evil. "I want to get back at Nico! He asked me if a Crayola box vomited on me!" Kass told me and I giggled. "I have a perfect idea of what to do to him and the rest of this camp!" Kass hugs me. Together we both grin and yell, "PSYCHO AND PROUD!" But I might be suicidal and not just psycho, because this whole camp including my partner-in-crime was going to be really mad at me.

xxx

That night, I teleported Kass and I to a closed department store and we gathered all the supplies. By midnight, we had everything we needed and I brought us back to camp. That's when the pranking began to start. The first stop was the Athena cabin. I snuck in and stole Annabeth's invisibility Yankees cap. Kass put it on Thalia's Pine and the tree disappeared. I looked at Peleus and sighed. I'd spare the dragon from pranks but that was only because I was afraid he'd try to take a chunk out of me if I tried anything funny.

I handed the Christmas lights to Kass and we ran to the Demeter cabin to get to work. The grass roof had always reminded me of a Christmas tree and that was what we were going to make it into. We strung lights all over the cabin, put a glowing star at the top of it, and I added a statue of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on the roof as an extra. Afterwards, I hadn't the pink paint, the roller brush, and the Christmas ornaments to Kass and she left to give the Ares cabin a makeover. I, on the other hand, went to work turning all the weapons into flowers.

I went to check on Kass afterwards and she had finished painting the roof pink and putting the ornaments on the moose's horns. I checked off the Ares cabin prank from my list. I ran to the Hephaestus cabin and set the roof on 'fire', making sure that the flames didn't do any damage but were big enough to cause massive panic. Kass checked it off the list and we got the stuff ready for the Aphrodite cabin. Kass got the Pokémon figurines and I got the green hair dye and the Hades posters. We emerged from the cabin just a few minutes later. The walls were now covered in pictures of Hades and the room looked like a Pokémon bomb exploded in it. I had filled the shampoo and conditioner of all the Aphrodite girls with green dye as well. Drew was going to love this.

Kass took care of the Hermes cabin, placing permanent stick-ons of rainbows, flowers, and hearts on the campers' faces and shoved evil dolls in the room. I spotted the horrid-looking Chucky doll and looked away from the murderer. That thing terrified me. I moved to the Apollo cabin and turned it invisible while Kass released bunny rabbits into it. We posted the banner on their roof so that when the cabin turned visible, the big letters forming the phrase: IT'S THE EASTER BUNNY would be obvious. Kass and I wrestled Will Solace into a bunny costume and we grinned evilly before leaving to make even more trouble.

I quickly put whipped cream all over my siblings faces—giving them the nicer prank because we were family—and Kass came out of her cabin, which now looked like an Anime and Nyan Cat bomb had went off inside. I changed the climbing wall from lava and earthquakes to pink goo and rainbows before Kass and I split off. Kass decorated the Athena cabin like there was a birthday party but the banner on the front said: LET'S PARTY instead of happy birthday. Annabeth was going to kill us but I was worried about Percy. When he woke up, he'd see permanent make-up (it would last until tomorrow afternoon) on his face and My Little Pony collectables all over the cabin.

I slipped shots into Chiron's drink so that tomorrow he'd wake up, drink some water, and then realize he was drunk. Then, it was time to get back at Jake. Kass helped me get him into some Nyan Cat PJs and then I dyed his hair pink. Naturally, it would last up to Friday afternoon because I wasn't that cruel but he'd freak when he found out. That was payback for making a bunch of nicknames that insulted my height and called me a spell-caster. Finally, all that was left was the Hades Cabin.

Kass got started making it into a Barbie House while I got to work putting stickers of Hello Kitty and My Little Pony all over Nico's sword. I replaced the sheath with a plastic pink sword scarab with Barbie's face on it. That would do. Kass came in grinning and we changed the whole cabin pink until the sun began to rise. When we were done, Kass put permanent make-up on him that I made sure would stay on until Friday afternoon. Now for the final touch!

I went through Rain's drawers and pulled out four black bras. Most of her bras were black so it didn't really matter what I pulled out of her underwear drawer. Kass pulled out an arm-full of them and we hung them outside the Hades cabin. I put the last bra on the flag pole near the Hades cabin and Kass hung up the banner that I had made personally, on the roof. In big, bold black letter were the words: Rain's black bras are so damn sexy in all caps. Kass and my names were on the bottom, signed so she knew it was us.

Kass went to bed and I pretended like I was going to sleep too but I stilled had one more prank. I had slipped some sleeping potions into Kass's usual before-bed-hot-chocolate and she was out like a light. I snuck into her cabin and got to work with the make-up. If Mom wasn't so good at putting on make-up, I might've made her look like a clown but instead, the make-up turned out almost perfect. I put some lip gloss on her, fixed her hair into a braid, and then wrestled her into a flowing rainbow-colored ball gown with six-inch stilettos. My work here was done. Little did I know that someone had their own surprise for me.

xxx

I woke up that morning hearing screaming, cursing, and complaining. I ran to the door and passed the mirror on the way out. I was green. Yes, I'm serious, green. MY SKIN WAS GREEN! To make it worse, I was dressed in a witch's outfit with a pointy black hat, a black dress, and green and black-striped tights with tall, heeled black boots. I let out a scream and I burst out of my cabin. Kass was waiting for me. "HOW COULD YOU MAKE ME WEAR THIS?! I look like an Aphrodite girl and none of it will come off! I can't even get this DRESS off!" She shouted, her childish voice is whiny.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, KASSIO CORALOV?!" I screech and I really sound like a witch when I scream that. Kass takes a step back. "Have you seen what I look like?! Besides, what did I do to you?" Kass asks, looking offended. "So, who put me in this Zeus-forsaken outfit then? It has to be you!" I scream back and I can't help it. I was a short witch and I was never going to live it down now that I was dressed like this. "That, Pixie, would be _us_." I recognize that voice before I saw him. Nico gives me a smirk but I can't take it seriously with him wearing make-up and holding a sword with Hello Kitty stickers on it. Behind him, Jake is laughing and I glare at them both. "It was my idea, Tiny Sorceress." Jake teases and if I had any weapon with me, I would've tried to kill him with it.

Instead, I went back into the cabin, grabbed the broomstick that was next to my bed, and ran outside again. I pointed it threateningly at them. "You two have five seconds to get out of my sight or so help me Hecate, I'll turn you into the heartless little pigs you are!" I shout. The two take off and I run after them, the broomstick held over my head, cursing at them in Latin. "YOU TWO ARE SO DEAD!"

XXX

How was that for an ending? Poor Aris. XD I'd be real piss if someone did that to me! Hahaha! What do you think? Superman Killers, Little Witches, Dead Flirts, Walking Crayons, Pixies, Children of Death, Rainbow Haters, Tiny Sorceresses, and bras on flagpoles! I did warn you! Anyway, review? Hope you liked it! New update should be sometime soon!


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